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| On the words Incarnate, and Made Man.
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Lecture XII.
On the words Incarnate, and Made
Man.
Isaiah vii. 10–14
“And the Lord spoke again unto Ahaz, saying,
Ask thee a sign, &c.:” and “Behold!
a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call His name
Emmanuel, &c.”
1. Nurslings of
purity and disciples of chastity, raise we our hymn to the Virgin-born
God1340
| 1340 This passage supplies
a complete answer to the suspicion of a quasi-Nestorian tendency
referred to in note 6, on xi. 20. See x. 19, note 2, on the title
Θεοτόκος. | with lips full of purity.
Deemed1341
| 1341 The Present Participle
(καταξιούμενοι)
means that the Candidates for Baptism were already on the way to be
admitted to Holy Communion. Compare Cat. i. 1, where the same
Candidates are addressed as “partakers of the mysteries of
Christ, as yet by calling only, but ere long by grace also.” | worthy to partake
of the flesh of the Spiritual Lamb1342
| 1342 Aubertin remarks on
this passage that “this spiritual Lamb, consisting of head and
feet, can be received only by the spiritual mouth.” This
explanation, however true in itself, cannot fairly be held to express
fully the meaning of Cyril. See the section of the Introduction
referred to in the Index, “Eucharist.” | , let us take
the head together with the feet1343
| 1343 Ex. xii. 9: the head with the
feet. The same figurative interpretation is given by Eusebius
(Eccl. Hist. I. ii. § 1): “In Christ there is a
twofold nature; and the one—in so far as He is thought of as
God—resembles the head of the body, while the other may be
compared with the feet,—in so far as He, for the sake of our
salvation, put on human nature with the same passions as our
own.” | , the Deity
being understood as the head, and the Manhood taken as the feet.
Hearers of the Holy Gospels, let us listen to John the Divine1344
| 1344 ᾽Ιωάννῃ τῷ
Θεολόγω. The title is
given to Moses by Philo Judæus (Vita Mos. III. §
11), to Prophets by Eusebius (Demostr. Evang. ii. 9), to
Apostles by Athanasius (de Incarn. § 10:
τῶν
αὐτοῦ τοῦ
Σωτῆρος
θεολόγων
ἀνδρῶν), and especially to
St. John, because the chief purpose of his Gospel was to set forth the
Deity of Christ. See note on Revel. i. 1, in Speaker’s
Commentary, and Suicer, Thesaurus, Θεολόγος. | . For he who said, In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God1345
, went on to say,
and the Word was made flesh1346
. For
neither is it holy to worship the mere man, nor religious to say that
He is God only without the Manhood. For if Christ is God, as
indeed He is, but took not human nature upon Him, we are strangers to
salvation. Let us then worship Him as God, but believe that He
also was made Man. For neither is there any profit in calling Him
man without Godhead nor any salvation in refusing to confess the
Manhood together with the Godhead. Let us confess the presence of
Him who is both King and Physician. For Jesus the King when about
to become our Physician, girded Himself with the linen of
humanity1347
, and healed that
which was sick. The perfect Teacher of babes1348
became a babe among babes, that He might
give wisdom to the foolish. The Bread of heaven came down on
earth1349
that He might feed the hungry.
2. But the sons of the Jews by setting at
nought Him that came, and looking for him who cometh in wickedness,
rejected the true Messiah, and wait for the deceiver, themselves
deceived; herein also the Saviour being found true, who said, I am
come in My Father’s name, and ye receive Me not: but if
another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive1350
. It is well also to put a question to
the Jews. Is the Prophet Esaias, who saith that Emmanuel shall be
born of a virgin, true or false1351
? For if
they charge him with falsehood, no wonder: for their custom is
not only to charge with falsehood, but also to stone the
Prophets. But if the Prophet is true, point to the Emmanuel, and
say, Whether is He who is to come, for whom ye are looking, to be born
of a virgin or not? For if He is not to be born of a virgin, ye
accuse the Prophet of falsehood: but if in Him that is to come ye
expect this, why do ye reject that which has come to pass
already?
3. Let the Jews, then, be led astray, since
they so will: but let the Church of God be glorified. For
we receive God the Word made Man in truth, not, as heretics
say1352
| 1352 Carpocrates,
Cerinthus, the Ebionites, &c. See Irenæus
(Hær. I. xxv. § 1; xxvi. §§ 1, 2). | , of the will of man and woman, but of
The Virgin and the Holy Ghost1353
| 1353 Dr. Swainson
(Creeds, Chap. vii. § 7), speaking of the Creed of Cyril of
Jerusalem, says that “the words σαρκωθέντα
καὶ
ἐνανθρωπήσαντα
are found in it, but no reference whatever is made to the birth
from the Virgin.” The present passage, and that in Cat. iv.
§ 9, “begotten of the Holy Virgin and the Holy Ghost,”
seems to shew that such a clause formed part of the Creed which Cyril
was expounding. The genuineness of both passages is attested by
all the mss. and Dr. Swainson was mistaken in
charging the Editors of the Oxford Translation with having omitted to
“mention that Touttée was himself doubtful as to the words
within the brackets” [ἐκ
Παρθένου καὶ
Πνεύματος
῾Αγίου]. The
brackets are added by Dr. Swainson himself, and Touttée had no
doubt of the genuineness of the words: on the contrary he
believed them to be part of the Creed itself. His note is as
follows: “The words of the Virgin and Holy Ghost I
have caused to be printed in larger letters as if taken from the
Symbol: although they are wanting in the Title of this Lecture
and in § 13, where the third Article of the Creed is referred
to. But they are read in nearly all the Latin and Greek Symbols,
and are referred to in Cat. iv. § 9.” | according to the Gospel, Made
Man1354
| 1354 ἐνανθρωπήσαντα.
The word occurs in the true Nicene formula, where, as Dr. Swainson
thinks, it is “scarcely ambiguous,” “it is
defective.” Both the Verb and the Substantive ἐνανθρώπησις
are constantly used by Athanasius to denote the Incarnation in a
perfectly general way, without any indication of ambiguity or
defect. In the Creed proposed by Eusebius of Cæsarea instead
of ἐνανθρωπήσαντα
we find ἐν
ἀνθρώποις
πολιτευσάμενον;
and in the Expositio Fidei ascribed to Athanasius, but of
somewhat doubtful authenticity, the Incarnation is described thus
ἐκ τῆς
ἀχράντου
παρθένου
Μαρίας τὸν
ἡμέτερον
ἀνείληφεν
ἄνθρωπον
Χριστὸν
᾽Ιησοῦν. In the
Apollinarian controversy the attempt was made to interpret ἐνηνθρώπησεν
as meaning not that “He became Man,” but that
“He assumed a man,” i.e. that “the man was
first formed and then assumed” (Gregory, Epist. ad
Cledon, quoted by Swainson, p. 83), or else merely that “He
dwelt among men.” But the context of the passages in which
Cyril uses the word (iv. 9; xii. 3) clearly shews that he employed it
in the perfectly orthodox sense which it has in the Nicene Formula and
in Athanasius. | , not in seeming but in truth.
And that He was truly Man made of the Virgin, wait for the proper time
of instruction in this Lecture, and thou shalt receive the
proofs1355
| 1355 See below, § 21
ff. Cyril means that the direct proof cannot be given at once,
because there are many errors to be set aside first. Compare the
end of § 4. | : for the
error of the heretics is manifold. And some have said that He has
not been born at all of a virgin1356
| 1356 See Cat. iv. 9, notes
3, 4. | : others
that He has been born, not of a virgin, but of a wife dwelling with a
husband. Others say that the Christ is not God made Man, but a
man made God1357
| 1357 Athanasius (contra
Arian. Or. I. § 9) quotes as from Arius, Thalia,
“Christ is not Very God, but He, as others, was made God
(ἐθεοποιήθη
) by participation.” The Eusebians in the Confession of
Faith called Macrostichos (a.d. 344) condemned
this view as being held by the disciples of Paul of Samosata,
“who say that after the incarnation He was by advance made God,
from being made by nature a mere man.” The orthodox use of
the word Θεοποιεῖσθαι
is seen in Athan. de Incarnat. § 54: αὐτὸς
ἐνηνθρώπησεν,
ἵνα ἡμεῖς
θεοποιηθῶμεν. | . For they
dared to say that not He—the pre-existent Word—was made
Man; but a certain man was by advancement crowned.
4. But remember thou what was said yesterday
concerning His Godhead. Believe that He the Only-begotten Son of
God—He Himself was again begotten of a Virgin. Believe the
Evangelist John when he says, And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt
among us1358
. For the Word
is eternal, Begotten of the Father Before All
Worlds: but the flesh He took on Him recently for our
sake. Many contradict this, and say: “What cause was
there so great, for God to come down into humanity? And, is it at
all God’s nature to hold intercourse with men? And, is it
possible for a virgin to bear, without man?” Since then
there is much controversy, and the battle has many forms, come, let us
by the grace of Christ, and the prayers of those who are present,
resolve each question.
5. And first let us inquire for what cause
Jesus came down. Now mind not my argumentations, for perhaps thou
mayest be misled but unless thou receive testimony of the Prophets on
each matter, believe not what I say: unless thou learn from the
Holy Scriptures concerning the Virgin, and the place, the time, and the
manner, receive not testimony from man1359
. For one who at present thus teaches
may possibly be suspected: but what man of sense will suspect one
that prophesied a thousand and more years beforehand? If then
thou seekest the cause of Christ’s coming, go back to the first
book of the Scriptures. In six days God made the world: but
the world was for man. The sun however resplendent with bright
beams, yet was made to give light to man, yea, and all living creatures
were formed to serve us: herbs and trees were created for our
enjoyment. All the works of creation were good, but none of these
was an image of God, save man only. The sun was formed by a mere
command, but man by God’s hands: Let us make man after
our image, and after our likeness1360
. A wooden image of an earthly king is
held in honour; how much more a rational image of God?
But when this the greatest of the works of
creation was disporting himself in Paradise, the envy of the Devil cast
him out. The enemy was rejoicing over the fall of him whom he had
envied: wouldest thou have had the enemy continue to
rejoice? Not daring to accost the man because of his strength, he
accosted as being weaker the woman, still a virgin: for it was
after the expulsion from Paradise that Adam knew his
wife1361
.
6. Cain and Abel succeeded in the second
generation of mankind: and Cain was the first murderer.
Afterwards a deluge was poured abroad because of the great wickedness
of men: fire came down from heaven upon the people of Sodom
because of their transgression. After a time God chose out
Israel: but Israel also turned aside, and the chosen race was
wounded. For while Moses stood before God in the mount, the
people were worshipping a calf instead of God. In the lifetime of
Moses, the law-giver who had said, Thou shalt not commit
adultery, a man dared to enter a place of harlotry and
transgress1362
. After Moses,
Prophets were sent to cure Israel: but in their healing office
they lamented that they were not able to overcome the disease, so that
one of them says, Woe is me! for the godly man is perished out of
the earth, and there is none that doeth right among men1363
: and again, They are all gone out
of the way, they are together became unprofitable; there is none that
doeth good, no, not one1364
| 1364 Ps. xiv. 3; Rom. iii. 12. | : and again,
Cursing and stealing, and adultery, and murder are poured out upon
the land1365
. Their
sons and their daughters they sacrificed unto devils1366
. They used auguries, and
enchantments, and divinations1367
. And
again, they fastened their garments with cords, and made hangings
attached to the altar1368
.
7. Very great was the wound of man’s
nature; from the feet to the head there was no soundness in it;
none could apply mollifying ointment, neither oil, nor
bandages1369
. Then
bewailing and wearying themselves, the Prophets said, Who shall give
salvation out of Sion1370
? And again,
Let Thy hand be upon the man of Thy right hand, and upon the son of
man whom Thou madest strong for Thyself: so will not we go back
from Thee1371
. And another
of the Prophets entreated, saying, Bow the heavens, O Lord and come
down1372
. The wounds
of man’s nature pass our healing. They slew Thy
Prophets, and cast down Thine altars1373
. The evil is irretrievable by us, and
needs thee to retrieve it.
8. The Lord heard the prayer of the
Prophets. The Father disregarded not the perishing of our race;
He sent forth His Son, the Lord from heaven, as healer: and one
of the Prophets saith, The Lord whom ye seek, cometh, and shall
suddenly come1374
.
Whither? The Lord shall come to His own temple,
where ye stoned Him. Then another of the Prophets, on hearing
this, saith to him: In speaking of the salvation of God, speakest
thou quietly? In preaching the good tidings of God’s coming
for salvation, speakest thou in secret? O thou that bringest
good tidings to Zion, get thee up into the high mountain. Speak
to the cities of Judah. What am I to speak? Behold
our God! Behold! the Lord cometh with strength1375
! Again the Lord Himself saith,
Behold! I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the
Lord. And many nations shall flee unto the Lord1376
. The Israelites rejected salvation
through Me: I come to gather all nations and
tongues1377
. For He
came to His own and His own received Him not1378
. Thou comest and what dost Thou bestow
on the nations? I come to gather all nations, and I will leave
on them a sign1379
| 1379 Isa. lxvi. 19, a passage interpreted by the Fathers of
the sign of the Cross. Eusebius (Demonstr. Evang.
vi. 25): “Who, on seeing that all who have believed
in Christ use as a seal the symbol of salvation, would not reasonably
be astonished at hearing the Lord’s saying of old time, And
they shall come, and see My glory, and I will leave a sign upon
them?” Cf. Cat. iv. 14; xiii. 36. | . For from My
conflict upon the Cross I give to each of My soldiers a royal seal to
bear upon his forehead. Another also of the Prophets said, He
bowed the heavens also, and came down; and darkness was under His
feet1380
. For His
coming down from heaven was not known by men.
9. Afterwards Solomon hearing his father
David speak these things, built a wondrous house, and foreseeing Him
who was to come into it, said in astonishment, Will God in very deed
dwell with men on the earth1381
? Yea,
saith David by anticipation in the Psalm inscribed For Solomon,
wherein is this, He shall come down like rain into a
fleece1382
: rain,
because of His heavenly nature, and into a fleece, because of His
humanity. For rain, coming down into a fleece, comes down
noiselessly: so that the Magi, not knowing the mystery of the
Nativity, say, Where is He that is born King of the
Jews1383
? and Herod being
troubled inquired concerning Him who was born, and said, Where is
the Christ to be born1384
?
10. But who is this that cometh down?
He says in what follows, And with the sun He endureth, and before
the moon generations of generations1385
. And again another of the Prophets
saith, Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Sion, shout, O daughter of
Jerusalem. Behold! thy King cometh unto thee, just and having
salvation1386
. Kings are
many; of which speakest thou, O Prophet? Give us a sign which
other Kings have not. If thou say, A king clad in purple, the
dignity of the apparel has been anticipated. If thou say, Guarded
by spear-men, and sitting in a golden chariot, this also has been
anticipated by others. Give us a sign peculiar to the King whose
coming thou announcest. And the Prophet maketh answer and saith,
Behold! thy King cometh unto thee, just, and having salvation:
He is meek, and riding upon an ass and a young foal, not on a
chariot. Thou hast a unique sign of the King who came.
Jesus alone of kings sat upon an unyoked1387
| 1387 ἀσαγῆ, a rare word, formed from
σάγη,
“harness.” |
foal, entering into Jerusalem with acclamations as a king. And
when this King is come, what doth He? Thou also by the blood
of the covenant hast sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is
no water1388
.
11. But He might perchance even sit upon a
foal: give us rather a sign, where the King that entereth shall
stand. And give the sign not far from the city, that it may not
be unknown to us: and give us the sign plain before our eyes,
that even when in the city we may behold the place. And the
Prophet again makes answer, saying: And His feet shall stand
in that day upon the Mount of Olives which is before Jerusalem on the
east1389
| 1389 Zech. xiv. 4. “There is an excellent view
from the city of the Mount of Olives which stands up over against it,
especially from the height of Golgotha where Cyril was delivering his
Lectures” (Cleopas). | . Does
any one standing within the city
fail to behold the place?
12. We have two signs, and we desire to
learn a third. Tell us what the Lord doth when He is come.
Another Prophet saith, Behold! our God, and afterwards, He
will come and save us. Then the eyes of the blind shall be
opened, and the ears of the deaf shall hear: then shall the lame
man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be
distinct1390
. But let yet
another testimony be told us. Thou sayest, O Prophet, that the
Lord cometh, and doeth signs such as never were: what other clear
sign tellest thou? The Lord Himself entereth into judgment
with the elders of His people, and with the princes
thereof1391
. A notable
sign! The Master judged by His servants, the elders, and
submitting to it.
13. These things the Jews read, but hear
not: for they have stopped the ears of their heart, that they may
not hear. But let us believe in Jesus Christ, as having come in
the flesh and been made Man, because we could not receive Him
otherwise. For since we could not look upon or enjoy Him as He
was, He became what we are, that so we might be permitted to enjoy
Him. For if we cannot look full on the sun, which was made on the
fourth day, could we behold God its Creator1392
| 1392 Cf. Epist. Barnab.
§ 13: “For had He not come in flesh, how could we men
have been safe in beholding Him? For in beholding the Sun, which
being the work of His hands shall cease to be, men have no strength to
fix their eyes upon him.” | ? The Lord came down in fire on Mount
Sinai, and the people could not bear it, but said to Moses, Speak
thou with us, and we will hear; and let not God speak to us, lest we
die1393
: and again,
For who is there of all flesh that hath heard the voice of the
living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, and shall
live1394
? If to hear
the voice of God speaking is a cause of death, how shall not the sight
of God Himself bring death? And what wonder? Even Moses
himself saith, I exceedingly fear and quake1395
.
14. What wouldest thou then? That He
who came for our salvation should become a minister of destruction
because men could not bear Him? or that He should suit His grace to our
measure? Daniel could not bear the vision of an Angel, and wert
thou capable of the sight of the Lord of Angels? Gabriel
appeared, and Daniel fell down: and of what nature or in what
guise was he that appeared? His countenance was like
lightning1396
; not like the sun:
and his eyes as lamps of fire, not as a furnace of fire:
and the voice of his words as the voice of a multitude, not as
the voice of twelve legions of angels; nevertheless the Prophet fell
down. And the Angel cometh unto him, saying, Fear not, Daniel,
stand upright: be of good courage, thy words are
heard1397
. And Daniel
says, I stood up trembling1398
: and not even
so did he make answer, until the likeness of a man’s hand touched
him. And when he that appeared was changed into the appearance of
a man, then Daniel spoke: and what saith he? O my Lord,
at the vision of Thee my inward parts were turned within me, and no
strength remaineth in me, neither is there breath left in
me1399
. If an Angel
appearing took away the Prophet’s voice and strength, would the
appearance of God have allowed him to breathe? And until there
touched me as it were a vision of a man1400
,
saith the Scripture, Daniel took not courage. So then after trial
shewn of our weakness, the Lord assumed that which man required:
for since man required to hear from one of like countenance, the
Saviour took on Him the nature of like affections, that men might be
the more easily instructed.
15. Learn also another cause. Christ
came that He might be baptized, and might sanctify Baptism: He
came that He might work wonders, walking upon the waters of the
sea. Since then before His appearance in flesh, the sea saw
Him and fled, and Jordan was turned back1401
,
the Lord took to Himself His body, that the sea might endure the sight,
and Jordan receive Him without fear. This then is one cause; but
there is also a second. Through Eve yet virgin came death;
through a virgin, or rather from a virgin, must the Life appear:
that as the serpent beguiled the one, so to the other Gabriel might
bring good tidings1402
. Men forsook
God, and made carved images of men. Since therefore an image of
man was falsely worshipped as God, God became truly Man, that the
falsehood might be done away. The Devil had used the flesh as an
instrument against us; and Paul knowing this, saith, But I see
another law in my members warring against the law of my mind, and
bringing me into captivity1403
, and the
rest. By the very same weapons, therefore, wherewith the Devil
used to vanquish us, have we been saved. The Lord took on Him
from us our likeness, that He might save man’s nature: He
took our likeness, that He might give greater grace to that which
lacked; that sinful humanity might become partaker of God. For
where sin abounded, grace did much more abound1404
. It behoved the Lord to suffer for us; but if
the Devil had known Him, he would not have dared to approach Him.
For had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of
Glory1405
. His body
therefore was made a bait to death that the dragon1406
, hoping to devour it, might disgorge those
also who had been already devoured1407
| 1407 On
Christ’s descent into Hades compare iv. 11; xiv. 19; and Eusebius
(Dem. Evang. x. 50), and Athanasius (c. Arian. Or. iii.
56): “The Lord, at Whom the keepers of hell’s gates
shuddered and set open hell. The Lord, Whom death as a dragon
flees.” | . For
Death prevailed and devoured; and again, God wiped away every
tear from off every face1408
.
16. Was it without reason that Christ was
made Man? Are our teachings ingenious phrases and human
subtleties? Are not the Holy Scriptures our salvation? Are
not the predictions of the Prophets? Keep then, I pray thee, this
deposit1409
undisturbed, and
let none remove thee: believe that God became Man. But
though it has been proved possible for Him to be made Man, yet if the
Jews still disbelieve, let us hold this forth to them: What
strange thing do we announce in saying that God was made Man, when
yourselves say that Abraham received the Lord as a guest1410
? What strange thing do we announce,
when Jacob says, For I have seen God face to face, and my life is
preserved1411
? The Lord,
who ate with Abraham, ate also with us. What strange thing then
do we announce? Nay more, we produce two witnesses, those who
stood before Lord on Mount Sinai: Moses was in a clift of the
rock1412
, and Elias was once
in a clift of the rock1413
: they being
present with Him at His Transfiguration on Mount Tabor, spoke to
the Disciples of His decease which fire should accomplish at
Jerusalem1414
| 1414 Luke ix. 30, 31. On the tradition that Mt. Tabor
was the place of the Transfiguration, accepted by S. Jerome and other
Fathers, compare Lightfoot (Hor. Hebr. in Marc. ix. 2). | . But, as I
said before, it has been proved possible for Him to be made man:
and the rest of the proofs may be left for the studious to
collect.
17. My statement, however, promised to
declare1415
| 1415 Cat. xii. 5. For
εὑρεῖν the recent
Editors with mss. A.R.C. and Grodecq.
have ἐρεῖν. | also the time of
the Saviour’s and the place: and I must not go away
convicted of falsehood, but rather send away the Church’s
novices1416
well assured.
Let us therefore inquire the time when our Lord came: because His
coming is recent, and is disputed: and because Christ Jesus is
the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever1417
| 1417 Heb. xiii. 8. Cyril is supposed to refer to two
objections to the Incarnation, one founded on the lateness of
Christ’s coming, the other on the Divine immutability. But
the meaning of the passage is not clear, and the construction of the
second sentence is incomplete. | . Moses then, the prophet, saith, A
Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren,
like unto me1418
: but let that
“like unto me” be reserved awhile to be examined in
its proper place1419
| 1419 ἐξεταζόμενον
, a clear instance of the Gerundive, or quasi-Future, sense of the
Present Participle, common in Cyril. “This intention is not
fulfilled in the sequel of these Lectures” (R.W.C.). | . But when
cometh this Prophet that is expected? Recur, he says, to what has
been written by me: examine carefully Jacob’s prophecy
addressed to Judah: Judah, thee may thy brethren praise,
and afterwards, not to quote the whole, A prince shall not fail out
of Judah, nor a ruler from his loins, until He come, for whom it is
reserved; and He is the expectation, not of the Jews but of the
Gentiles1420
. He gave,
therefore, as a sign of Christ’s advent the cessation of the
Jewish rule. If they are not now under the Romans, the Christ is
not yet come: if they still have a prince of the race of Judah
and of David1421
| 1421 According to Cyril
(§ 19, below) and other Fathers, the continuance of Jewish rulers
ceased on the accession of Herod an Idumean. Compare Justin M.
(Tryphon §§ 52, 120); Eusebius
(Demonstr. Evang. VIII. 1). On modern
interpretations of the passage see Delitzsch (New Commentary on
Genesis), Briggs (Messianic Prophecy, p. 93), Cheyne
(Isaiah, Vol. II. p. 189), Driver (Journal of Philology,
No. 27, 1885). | , he is not yet come
that was expected. For I am ashamed to tell of their recent
doings concerning those who are now called Patriarchs1422
| 1422 A full and
interesting account of the Jewish Patriarchs of the West established at
Tiberias from the time of Antoninus Pius till the close of the 4th
century is contained in Dean Milman’s History of the Jews,
Vol. III. Compare Epiphanius (Hæres. xxx.
§ 3 ff.). | among them, and what their descent is, and
who their mother: but I leave it to those who know. But He
that cometh as the expectation of the Gentiles, what further
sign then hath He? He says next, Binding his foal unto the
vine1423
. Thou seest
that foal which was clearly announced by Zachariah1424
.
18. But again thou askest yet another
testimony of the time. The Lord said
unto Me, Thou art My Son; this day have I begotten Thee: and
a few words further on, Thou shalt rule them with a rod of
iron1425
. I have said
before that the kingdom of the Romans is clearly called a rod of iron;
but what is wanting concerning this let us further call to mind out of
Daniel. For in relating and interpreting to Nebuchadnezzar the
image of the statue, he tells also his whole vision concerning
it: and that a stone cut out of a mountain without hands, that
is, not set up by human contrivance, should overpower the whole
world: and he speaks most clearly thus; And in the days
of those kingdoms the
God of heaven shall set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed,
and His kingdom shall not be left to another people1426
.
19. But we seek still more clearly the proof
of the time of His coming. For man being hard to persuade, unless
he gets the very years for a clear calculation, does not believe what
is stated. What then is the season, and what the manner of the
time? It is when, on the failure of the kings descended from
Judah, Herod a foreigner succeeds to the kingdom? The Angel,
therefore, who converses with Daniel says, and do thou now mark the
words, And thou shalt know and understand: From the going
forth of the word for making answer1427
| 1427 Sep. τοῦ
ἀποκριθῆναι,
a frequent meaning of the Hebrew בישִּׁהָלְ,
by which the Greek Translators understood the answer of Darius to the
Letter of Tatnai and his companions. Both A.V. and R.V. render
the word “to restore.” | ,
and for the building of Jerusalem, until Messiah the Prince are
seven weeks and three score and two weeks1428
. Now three score and nine weeks of
years contain four hundred and eighty-three years. He said,
therefore, that after the building of Jerusalem, four hundred and
eighty-three years having passed, and the rulers having failed, then
cometh a certain king of another race, in whose time the Christ is to
be born. Now Darius the Mede1429
built the city
in the sixth year of his own reign, and first year of the 66th Olympiad
according to the Greeks. Olympiad is the name among the Greeks of
the games celebrated after four years, because of the day which in
every four years of the sun’s courses is made up of the
three1430
| 1430 In speaking of three
supernumeracy hours in the year instead of nearly six, Cyril seems to
follow the division of the diurnal period into twelve parts, not
twenty-four. The Jews had derived this division either from the
Egyptians, or more probably from the Babylonians: see Herodotus,
II. 109. | (supernumerary) hours in each year.
And Herod is king in the 186th Olympiad, in the 4th year thereof.
Now from the 66th to the 186th Olympiad there are 120 Olympiads
intervening, and a little over. So then the 120 Olympiads make up
480 years: for the other three years remaining are perhaps taken
up in the interval between the first and fourth years. And there
thou hast the proof according to the Scripture which saith, From the
going forth of the word that Jerusalem be restored and built until
Messiah the Prince are seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. Of
the times, therefore, thou hast for the present this proof, although
there are also other different interpretations concerning the aforesaid
weeks of years in Daniel.
20. But now hear the place of the promise,
as Micah says, And thou, Bethlehem, house of Ephrathah, art thou
little to be among the thousands of Judah? For out of thee shall
come forth unto Me a ruler, to be governor in Israel: and His
goings forth are front the beginning, from the days of
eternity1431
| 1431 Micah v. 2, quoted also in Cat. xi. 20, where see
note. | . But
assuredly as to the places, thou being an inhabitant of Jerusalem,
knowest also beforehand what is written in the hundred and thirty-first
psalm. Lo! we heard of it at Ephrathah, we found it in the
plains of the wood1432
. For a few
years ago the place was woody1433
| 1433 The Benedictine
Editor thinks that in calling the place “woody” Cyril
refers to a grove planted by Hadrian in honour of Adonis, which had
been destroyed about sixteen years before, when Helena built the Church
at Bethlehem: see Eusebius, Life of Constantine, III.
43. But Cyril evidently means that the wood of which the Psalmist
speaks had remained till a few years before. Ephrâthah is
the ancient name of Bethlehem (Gen. xxxv. 19; xlviii. 7), and by “the fields of the
wood” is probably meant Kirjath-Jearim, “the city of
woods,” where the Ark was found by David (2 Sam vi. 2; 1 Chron. xiii. 6). | . Again thou
hast heard Habakkuk say to the Lord, When the years draw nigh, thou
shalt be made known, when the time is come, thou shalt be
shewn1434
| 1434 Hab. iii. 2: (R.V.) O Lord, revive
Thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make it
known. The Septuagint gives a different sense: In
the midst of two lives (or, living beings) shalt Thou be
known: when the years draw nigh Thou shalt be recognised:
when the time is come, Thou shalt be shewn. The two latter
clauses seem to be different renderings of the same Hebrew
words. | . And what is
the sign, O Prophet, of the Lord’s coming? And presently he
saith, In the midst of two lives shalt thou be known1435
| 1435 ἑξῆς. This clause comes before
the preceding quotation: Cyril misplaces them. In the
Vatican and other mss. of the Sept. and in
some Fathers ζώων (“living creatures”)
is found in place of ζωῶν “lives;” but the
latter reading is evidently required by the interpretation which
follows in Cyril. Origen (de Principiis, I. 4), who
recognises both readings (“In medio vel duorum animalium, vel
duarum vitarum, cognosceris,”) interprets the “two living
beings” of the Son and the Spirit. Eusebius (Demonstr.
Evang VI. 15) observes that ζωων is to be read as perispomenon
from the Singular ζωή, and interprets it of Christ’s
life with God, and life on earth. Theodoret says, in commenting
on the passage, “To me it seems that the Prophet means not
“living beings” (ζῶα) but “lives” (ζωάς), the present life,
and that which is to come, between which is the appearance of the
Righteous Judge.” | , plainly saying this to the Lord,
“Having come in the flesh thou livest and diest, and after rising
from the dead thou livest again.” Further, from what part
of the region round Jerusalem cometh He? From east, or west, or
north, or south? Tell us exactly. And he makes answer most
plainly and says, God shall come from Teman1436
| 1436 Hab. iii. 3. Cyril interprets the word
Θαιμάν (Heb. ןמָיתּ”) as a
common Noun meaning “South,” and the Vulgate has here
“ab Austro veniet.” The prophecy is thus referred to
Bethlehem, as lying to the South of Jerusalem. Eusebius (Dem.
Evang. VI. 15) mentions this as the rendering of Theodotion
in his Greek Version, about 180 a.d. As
a proper name Teman denotes a district and town in the southern part of
Idumea, so called from a grandson of Esau (Bible:Jer.49.20 Bible:Ezek.25.13 Bible:Amos.1.12 Bible:Obad.1.9">Gen. xxxvi. 11, 15, 42; Jer. xlix. 7, 20;
Ezek. xxv. 13; Amos i. 12; Obad. 9). | (now Teman is by interpretation
‘south’) and the Holy One from Mount Paran1437
| 1437 The following note is
slightly abridged from the Edition of Alexandrides of Jerusalem.
“Previous Editions read ἔξ
ὄρους φαρὰν
κατασκίου
δασέος. This reading
is found in Cod. Vat. and other mss. of the
Septuagint, but φαράν is omitted in the
Aldine and many other copies nor was it read in the mss. of the Sept. in Jerome’s time, as is clear from
his comments on the passage. In the mss.
of Cyril, Ottob. R.C.V. Monac. I. and II. it
is wanting. Paran is the name of the desert towards the S. of
Palestine lying between it and Egypt (Gen. xxi. 21; Num. i. 12). There was also a Mount Paran
(Deut. xxxiii. 2). But since Cyril applies the
prophecy to Bethlehem, and the “shady thickly-wooded
mountain” of Habakkuk is identified with “the plains of the
wood” of David, we may safely conclude that Cyril did not read
φαράν in
his copies of the Septuagint, nor write it in his Lecture: but
the reading crept in from the later copyists, accustomed to the reading
φαράν in
the Septuagint.” | , shady, woody: what the
Psalmist spake in like
words, We found it in the plains of the wood.
21. We ask further, of whom cometh He and
how? And this Esaias tells us: Behold! the virgin shall
conceive in her womb, and shall bring forth a Son, and they shall call
His name Emmanuel1438
| 1438 Isa. vii. 14. The objection of the Jews that
the Hebrew word “Almah” means “a young woman,”
whether married or not, is mentioned by Justin M. (Tryph. 43,
67, 71), and by Eusebius (Dem. Evang. VII. i. 315). | . This the
Jews contradict, for of old it is their wont wickedly to oppose the
truth: and they say that it is not written “the
virgin,” but “the damsel.” But though I assent
to what they say, even so I find the truth. For we must ask them,
If a virgin be forced, when does she cry out and call for helpers,
after or before the outrage? If, therefore, the Scripture
elsewhere says, The betrothed damsel cried, and there was none to
save her1439
, doth it not speak
of a virgin?
But that you may learn more plainly that even a
virgin is called in Holy Scripture a “damsel,” hear the
Book of the Kings, speaking of Abishag the Shunamite, And the damsel
was very fair1440
| 1440 1 Kings i. 4. Cyril’s argument is fully
justified by the actual usage of “Almah,” which certainly
refers to unmarried women in Song of Sol. 1.3" id="ii.xvi-p128.2" parsed="|Gen|24|43|0|0;|Exod|2|8|0|0;|Song|1|3|0|0" osisRef="Bible:Gen.24.43 Bible:Exod.2.8 Bible:Song.1.3">Gen.
xxiv. 43; Ex. ii. 8; Cant. i. 3. The same is probably the meaning
in Ps. lxviii. 25: “in the midst were the
damsels playing with the timbrels.” There is no passage in
which the word can be shewn to mean a married woman. | : for that as
a virgin she was chosen and brought to David is admitted.
22. But the Jews say again, This was said to
Ahaz in reference to Hezekiah. Well, then, let us read the
Scripture: Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God, in the depth
or in the height1441
. And the sign
certainly must be something astonishing. For the water from the
rock was a sign, the sea divided, the sun turning back, and the
like. But in what I am going to mention there is still more
manifest refutation of the Jews. (I know that I am speaking at
much length, and that my hearers are wearied: but bear with the
fulness of my statements, because it is for Christ’s sake these
questions are moved, and they concern no ordinary matters.) Now
as Isaiah spoke this in the reign of Ahaz, and Ahaz reigned only
sixteen years, and the prophecy was spoken to him within these years,
the objection of the Jews is refuted by the fact that the succeeding
king, Hezekiah, son of Ahaz, was twenty-five years old when he began to
reign: for as the prophecy is confined within sixteen years, he
must have been begotten of Ahaz full nine years before the
prophecy. What need then was there to utter the prophecy
concerning one who had been already begotten even before the reign of
father Ahaz1442
| 1442 Compare Justin M.
(Tryph. § 77), Euseb. (Demonstr. Evang. L. VII. c.
i. 317). | ? For he said
not, hath conceived, but “the virgin shall
conceive,” speaking as with foreknowledge1443
| 1443 In the Hebrew
the word used is a Participle, and describes what Isaiah sees in a
prophetic vision; “Behold, the damsel—with
child.” | .
23. We know then for certain that the Lord
was to be born of a Virgin, but we have to shew of what family the
Virgin was. The Lord sware in truth unto David, and will not
set it aside. Of the fruit of body will I set upon thy
throne1444
: and
again, seed will I establish for ever, and his throne as the days of
heaven1445
. And
afterwards, Once have I sworn by My holiness that I will not lie unto
David. His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun
before Me, and as the moon established for ever1446
. Thou seest that the discourse is of
Christ, not of Solomon. For Solomon’s throne endured not as
the sun. But if any deny this, because Christ sat not on
David’s throne of wood, we will bring forward that saying, The
Scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat1447
: for it signifies not his wooden seat,
but the authority of his teaching. In like manner then I would
have you seek for David’s throne not the throne of wood, but the
kingdom itself. Take, too, as my witnesses the children who cried
aloud,Hosanna to the Son of David1448
,
blessed is the King of Israel1449
. And the
blind men also say, Son of David, have mercy on us1450
. Gabriel too testifies plainly to
Mary, saying, And the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His
father David1451
. Paul also
saith, Remember Jesus Christ raised from the dead, of the seed of
David, according to my Gospel1452
: and in
the beginning of the Epistle to the Romans he saith, Which was made
of the seed of David according to the flesh1453
. Receive thou therefore Him that was
born of David, believing the prophecy which saith, And in that day
there shall be a root of Jesse, and He that shall rise to rule over the
Gentiles: in Him shall the Gentiles trust1454
.
24. But the Jews are much troubled at these
things. This also Isaiah foreknew, saying, And they shall wish
that they had been burnt with fire: for unto us a child is
born (not unto them), unto us a Son is given1455
. Mark thou that at first He was the Son of God, then
was given to us. And a little after he says, And of His peace
there is no bound1456
. The Romans
have bounds: of the kingdom of the Son of God there is no
bound. The Persians and the Medes have bounds, but the Son has no
bound. Then next, upon the throne of David, and upon his
kingdom to order it. The Holy Virgin, therefore, is from
David.
25. For it became Him who is most pure, and
a teacher of purity, to have come forth from a pure
bride-chamber. For if he who well fulfils the office of a priest
of Jesus abstains from a wife, how should Jesus Himself be born of man
and woman? For thou, saith He in the Psalms, art He
that took Me out of the womb1457
. Mark
that carefully, He that took Me out of the womb, signifying that He was
begotten without man, being taken from a virgin’s womb and
flesh. For the manner is different with those who are begotten
according to the course of marriage.
26. And from such members He is not ashamed
to assume flesh, who is the framer of those very members. But
then who telleth us this? The Lord saith unto Jeremiah:
Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee: and before
thou camest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee1458
. If, then, in fashioning man He was
not ashamed of the contact, was He ashamed in fashioning for His own
sake the holy Flesh, the veil of His Godhead? It is God who even
now creates the children in the womb, as it is written in Job, Hast
thou not poured me out as milk, and curdled me like cheese? Thou
hast clothed me with skin and flesh, and hast knit me together with
bones and sinews1459
. There is
nothing polluted in the human frame except a man defile this with
fornication and adultery. He who formed Adam formed Eve also, and
male and female were formed by God’s hands. None of the
members of the body as formed from the beginning is polluted. Let
the mouths of all heretics be stopped who slander their bodies, or
rather Him who formed them. But let us remember Paul’s
saying, Know ye not that your bodies are the temples of the Holy
Ghost which is in you1460
? And again
the Prophet hath spoken before in the person of Jesus, My flesh is
from them1461
| 1461 Hos. ix. 12. R.V. Woe also to them,
when I depart from them. The Seventy mistook
ירִוּשֹבְּ,
“at my departure,” for ירְשָֹבִּ,
“my flesh.” | : and in
another place it is written, Therefore will He give them up, until
the time that she bringeth forth1462
. And
what is the sign? He tells us in what follows, She shall bring
forth, and the remnant of their brethren shall return. And
what are the nuptial pledges of the Virgin, the holy bride?
And I will betroth thee unto Me in faithfulness1463
. And Elizabeth, talking with Mary,
speaks in like manner: And blessed is she that believed; for
there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from
the Lord1464
.
27. But both Greeks and Jews harass us and
say that it was impossible for the Christ to be born of a virgin.
As for the Greeks we will stop their mouths from their own
fables. For ye who say that stones being thrown were changed into
men1465
| 1465 See the story of
Pyrrha and Deucalion in Pindar, Ol. ix. 60: ἄτερ δ᾽
εὐνᾶς
κτησάσθαν
λίθινον
γόνον, and in Ovid. Metam i.
260 ff. | , how say ye that it is impossible for a
virgin to bring forth? Ye who fable that a daughter was born from
the brain1466
| 1466 Athena was said to
have sprung armed from the head of Zeus: Pindar, Ol. vii.
65: κορυφὰν
κατ᾽ ἄκραν
ἀνορούσαισ᾽
ἀλάλαξεν
ὑπερμάκει
βοᾷ. Cf. Hes. Theog.
924. | , how say ye that it
is impossible for a son to have been born from a virgin’s
womb? Ye who falsely say that Dionysus was born from the thigh of
your Zeus1467
| 1467 Eurip. Bacchae.
295; Ovid. Metam. iv. 11. | , how set ye at
nought our truth? I know that I am speaking of things unworthy of
the present audience: but in order that thou in due season mayest
rebuke the Greeks, we have brought these things forward answering them
from their own fables.
28. But those of the circumcision meet thou
with this question: Whether is harder, for an aged woman, barren
and past age, to bear, or for a virgin in the prime of youth to
conceive? Sarah was barren, and though it had ceased to be with
her after the manner of women, yet, contrary to nature, she bore a
child. If, then, it is against nature for a barren woman to
conceive, and also for a virgin, either, therefore, reject both, or
accept both. For it is the same God1468
| 1468 Codd. Mon. i, A:
ὁ γὰρ αὐτὸς
Θεός. Bened. ὁ γὰρ
Θεὸς αὐτός. |
who both wrought the one and appointed the other. For thou wilt
not dare to say that it was possible for God in that former case, and
impossible in this latter. And again: how is it natural for
a man’s hand to be changed in a single hour into a different
appearance and restored again? How then was the hand of Moses
made white as snow, and at once restored again? But thou sayest
that God’s will made the change. In that case God’s
will has the power, and has it then no power in this case? That
moreover was a sign concerning the Egyptians only, but this was a sign
given to the whole world. But whether is the more difficult, O ye
Jews? For a virgin to bear, or for a rod to be quickened into a
living creature? Ye confess that in the case of Moses a perfectly
straight rod became like a
serpent, and was terrible to him who cast it down, and he who before
held the rod fast, fled from it as from a serpent; for a serpent in
truth it was: but he fled not because he feared that which he
held, but because he dreaded Him that had changed it. A rod had
teeth and eyes like a serpent: do then seeing eyes grow out of a
rod, and cannot a child be born of a virgin’s womb, if God
wills? For I say nothing of the fact that Aaron’s rod also
produced in a single night what other trees produce in several
years. For who knows not that a rod, after losing its bark, will
never sprout, not even if it be planted in the midst of rivers?
But since God is not dependent on the nature of trees, but is the
Creator of their natures, the unfruitful, and dry, and barkless rod
budded, and blossomed, and bare almonds. He, then, who for the
sake of the typical high-priest gave fruit supernaturally to the rod,
would He not for the sake of the true High-Priest grant to the Virgin
to bear a child?
29. These are excellent suggestions of the
narratives: but the Jews still contradict, and do not yield to
the statements concerning the rod, unless they may be persuaded by
similar strange and supernatural births. Question them,
therefore, in this way: of whom in the beginning was Eve
begotten? What mother conceived her the motherless? But the
Scripture saith that she was born out of Adam’s side. Is
Eve then born out of a man’s side without a mother, and is a
child not to be born without a father, of a virgin’s womb?
This debt of gratitude was due to men from womankind: for Eve was
begotten of Adam, and not conceived of a mother, but as it were brought
forth of man alone. Mary, therefore, paid the debt, of gratitude,
when not by man but of herself alone in an immaculate way she conceived
of the Holy Ghost by the power of God.
30. But let us take what is yet a greater wonder
than this. For that of bodies bodies should be conceived, even if
wonderful, is nevertheless possible: but that the dust of the
earth should become a man, this is more wonderful. That clay
moulded together should assume the coats and splendours of the eyes,
this is more wonderful. That out of dust of uniform appearance
should be produced both the firmness of bones, and the softness of
lungs, and other different kinds of members, this is wonderful.
That clay should be animated and travel round the world self moved, and
should build houses, this is wonderful. That clay should teach,
and talk, and act as carpenter, and as king, this is wonderful.
Whence, then, O ye most ignorant Jews, was Adam made? Did not God
take dust from the earth, and fashion this wonderful frame? Is
then clay changed into an eye, and cannot a virgin bear a son.
Does that which for men is more impossible take place, and is that
which is possible never to occur?
31. Let us remember these things,
brethren: let us use these weapons in our defence. Let us
not endure those heretics who teach Christ’s coming as a
phantom. Let us abhor those also who say that the Saviour’s
birth was of husband and wife; who have dared to say that He was the
child of Joseph and Mary, because it is written, And he took unto
him his wife1469
. For let us
remember Jacob who before he received Rachel, said to Laban, Give me
my wife1470
. For as she
before the wedded state, merely because there was a promise, was called
the wife of Jacob, so also Mary, because she had been betrothed, was
called the wife of Joseph. Mark also the accuracy of the Gospel,
saying, And in the sixth month the Angel Gabriel was sent from God
unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man
whose name was Joseph1471
, and so
forth. And again when the census took place, and Joseph went up
to enrol himself, what saith the Scripture? And Joseph also
went up from Galilee, to enrol himself with Mary who was espoused to
him, being great with child1472
. For
though she was with child, yet it said not “with his wife,”
but with her who was espoused to him. For God sent
forth His Son, says Paul, not made of a man and a woman, but
made of a woman1473
only, that is of a
virgin. For that the virgin also is called a woman, we shewed
before1474
. For He who
makes souls virgin, was born of a Virgin.
32. But thou wonderest at the event:
even she herself who bare him wondered at this. For she saith to
Gabriel, How shall this be to me, since I know not a man?
But he says, The Holy Ghost shall came upon thee, and the power of
the Highest shall overshadow thee: wherefore also the holy thing
which is to be born shall be called the Son of God1475
. Immaculate and undefiled was His
generation: for where the Holy Spirit breathes, there all
pollution is taken away: undefiled from the Virgin was the
incarnate generation of the Only-begotten. And if the heretics
gainsay the truth, the Holy Ghost shall convict them: that
overshadowing power of the Highest shall wax wroth: Gabriel shall
stand face to face against them in the day of judgment: the place
of the manger, which received the Lord, shall put them to shame.
The shepherds, who then received the good tidings, shall bear witness;
and the host of the Angels who sang praises and hymns, and said,
Glory to God in the highest, and
on earth peace among men of His good pleasure1476
: the Temple into which He was
then carried up on the fortieth day: the pairs of turtle-doves,
which were offered on His behalf1477
| 1477 Ib.
ii. 24. ; In Lev. xii. 8
one pair only of turtles is prescribed, to be offered for the mother,
not for the child. But the reading τὰ ζεύγη in Cyril is
confirmed by that in St. Luke, τοῦ
καθαρισμοῦ
αὐτῶν. See the authorities in
Tischendorf. | : and
Symeon who then took Him up in his arms, and Anna the prophetess who
was present.
33. Since God then beareth witness, and the
Holy Ghost joins in the witness, and Christ says, Why do ye seek to
kill me, a man who has told you the truth1478
?
let the heretics be silenced who speak against His humanity, for they
speak against Him, who saith, Handle me, and see; for a spirit hath
not flesh and bones, as ye see me have1479
. Adored be the Lord the Virgin-born,
and let Virgins acknowledge the crown of their own state: let the
order also of Solitaries acknowledge the glory of chastity for we men
are not deprived of the dignity of chastity. In the
Virgin’s womb the Saviour’s period of nine months was
passed: but the Lord was for thirty and three years a man:
so that if a virgin glories1480
| 1480 σεμνύνεται.
Rivet, misled by a double error in the old Latin version,
“veneratur,” accused Cyril of approving the worship of the
Virgin Mary. | because of the nine
months, much more we because of the many years.
34. But let us all by God’s grace run
the race of chastity, young men and maidens, old men and
children1481
; not going after
wantonness, but praising the name of Christ. Let us not be
ignorant of the glory of chastity: for its crown is angelic, and
its excellence above man. Let us be chary of our bodies which are
to shine as the sun: let us not for short pleasure defile so
great, so noble a body: for short and momentary is the sin, but
the shame for many years and for ever. Angels walking upon earth
are they who practise chastity: the Virgins have their portion
with Mary the Virgin. Let all vain ornament be banished, and
every hurtful glance, and all wanton gait, and every flowing robe, and
perfume enticing to pleasure. But in all for perfume let there be
the prayer of sweet odour, and the practice1482
| 1482 ἡ τῶν
ἀγαθῶν
πρᾶξις, Cod. A. | of
good works, and the sanctification of our bodies: that the
Virgin-born Lord may say even of us, both men who live in chastity and
women who wear the crown, I will dwell in them; and walk in them,
and I will be their God, and they shall be My people1483
. To whom be the glory for ever and
ever. Amen.E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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