Baptism And The Abiding Spirit

Ipse hoc declarat Deus dicens: Non permanebit spiritus meus in hominibus, quia carnes sunt. Spiritus sanctus spiritus sapientiae est, spiritus cognitionis. Habet ergo sapientiam, habet et disciplinam, sicut et de Beseleel qui sacrum tabernaculum divino oraculo jussus est facere, ait Scriptura: Quia repletus est spiritu prudentiae et disciplinae. Hic ergo spiritus datur hominibus, sed non permanet. Qua autem ratione non permanet, causa proditur, quia caro sunt. Carnis enim natura disciplinae repugnat, quia voluptati obtemperat. Denique de solo Domino Jesu scriptum est: Super quem videritis Spiritum descendentem de coelo, et manentem super eum, hic est qui baptizat Spiritu sancto. In eo enim manebat, quem nulla corruptelae carnalis impedimenta revocabant, quominus incorruptae et impermixtae ordinem disciplinae teneret, cujus caro non vidit corruptionem. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Noe et Arca, Caput III  Migne PL 14 365

God Himself declares this saying, 'My spirit will not remain in men because they are flesh.' 1 The Holy Spirit is the spirit of wisdom, the spirit of knowledge. He therefore has wisdom and discipline, as even Scripture says of Bezalel who by the command of the Divine oracle made the sacred tabernacle: 'Because He is filled with the spirit of prudence and discipline.' 2 Here, then, the Spirit may be given to men, but it does not remain. And for what reason it does not remain, the cause is given: because they are flesh. For it is the nature of the flesh to cast off discipline because it is is obedient to pleasure. Then concerning the only Lord Jesus Christ it is written, 'Over whom you shall see the Spirit descending from heaven and remaining upon Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' 3 For on Him it remained because no impediment of corrupt flesh recalled it, which to prevent He held to the way of incorrupt and pure discipline, whose flesh did not see corruption. Saint Ambrose, from On Noah and the Ark, Chap 3 1 Gen 6.3 2 Exod 31.3 3 Jn 1.33

Dividing The Waters

'Et fecit Deus firmamentum, et divisit inter medium aquae quae est super firmamentum, et inter medium aquae quae est subter firmamentum. Et vocavit Deus firmamentum coelam. Et vidit Deus quia bonum est, et factum est vespere, et factum est mane, dies secundus.' Studeat ergo unusquisque nostrum divisor aquae effici ejus quae est supra et quae est subtus: quo scilicet spiritalis aquae intellectum et participium capiens ejus quae est supra firmamentum, flumina de ventre suo educat aquae vivae salientis in vitam aeternam, segragatus sub dubio et separatus ab ea aqua quae subtus est, id est, aqua abyssi, in qua tenebrae esse dicuntur, in qua princeps hujus mundi, et adversarius draco, et angeli ejus habitant, sicut superius indicatum est. Illius ergo aquae supernae participio, quae supra coelos esse dicitur, unusquisque fidelium coelestis efficitur, id est, cum sensum suum habet in arduis et excelsis, nihil de terra, sed totum de coelestibus cogitans, quae sursum sunt quaerens, ubi Christus est in dextera Dei Patris. Tunc enim et ipse ea laude dignus habebitur a Deo, quae hic scribitur cum dicitur: 'Et vidit Deus quia bonum est.' Origenes, Homilia I In Genesim, Interprete Rufino Aquileiense Source: Migne PG 12.147-148

'And God made the firmament, and divided the water which is under the firmament from the water which is above the firmament. And God called the firmament heaven. And God saw that it was good; and there was evening and there was morning, the second day.' 1 Let each one of us, therefore, strive to be a divider of that water which is above and that which is below, by which, of course, attaining understanding and participation in that spiritual water above the firmament, one may draw from oneself rivers of living water springing up into eternal life, separated, without doubt, and removed from that water which is below, that is, the water of the abyss in which darkness is said to be, in which is the prince of this world, and the enemy dragon and his angels dwell there, as was indicated above. Therefore, by participation in the supernal water which is said to be above the heavens, each one of the faithful becomes heavenly, that is, when he turns to high and exalted things, thinking nothing about the earth but wholly about the heavens, seeking the things which are above, where Christ is at the right hand of the Father. For then he will be considered worthy of that praise from God which is written here when it says: 'And God saw that it was good.' Origen, from the First Homily on Genesis, Translated by Rufinus of Aquileia. 1 Gen 1.7-8

Contemplating The Heavens

Ὅτι ὄψομαι τοὺς οὐρανούς ἔργα τῶν δακτύλων σου, σελήνην καὶ ἀστέρας ἃ σὺ ἐθεμελίωσας, τί ἐστιν ἄνθρωπος ὅτι μιμνῄσκῃ αὐτοῦ ἢ υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου ὅτι ἐπισκέπτῃ αὐτόν. Ἔστι δὲ τοῖς ἀκριβῶς κατανοοῦσι προσδοκία τοῦ δύνασθαι μαθεῖν τοὺς οὐρανοὺς καὶ τὰ ἐν αὐτοῖς τίνα τρόπον τεθεμελίωται πρὸς οὐσίαν ἐλθόντα. Λέγοις δ' ἂν καὶ οὐρανοὺς τοὺς τὰ ἄνω φρονοῦντας, καὶ οὐ τὰ πρόσκαιρα· οὖτοι γὰρ οἱ οὐρανοὶ διηγοῦνται δόξαν Θεοῦ· σελήνην δὲ τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν· καὶ ἀστέρας τοὺς ἀκούσαντας, Ὑμεις τὸ φῶς τοῦ κόσμου· ὡς εἶναι τῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ χειρῶν· Ἔργα γὰρ, φησὶ, τῶν χειρῶν σου εἰσὶν οἱ οὐρανοί. Εἰ μή τις λέγει τὰ μεγαλοφυέστερα τῶν κτισμάτων Θεοῦ γενέσθαι χερσὶν, τὰ δ' ἄλλα δακτύλοις αὐτοῦ. Σαφηνίζων δὲ ὡς κατὰ τὸ σῶμα τὸν ἄνθρώπου ἔλαβεν, ἐπάγει τὸ ἤ υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου. Κατὰ σῶμα γὰρ, οὐ κατὰ ψυχὴν, υἱὸς τις ἀνθρώπου ἐστιν. Μεθ' ὄν δεικνὺς τὴν λογικὴν οὐσίαν, ταύτης τὸ μέγεθος ἐπιφέρει. Οὐκ εἶπε δὲ ὅτι, Ἔπλασας αὐτὸν, οὐ γὰρ περὶ δημιουργίας, ἀλλὰ προνοίας νῦν διαλέγεται. Ἐκτραγῳδεῖ δὲ πολλάλις ἡ Γραγὴ τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην εὐτέλειαν· Ἄνθρωπος γὰρ φησὶν ματαιότητι ὡμοιώθη· αἱ ἡμέραι αὐτοῦ ὡς σκιαὶ παράγουσι· καὶ πάλιν· Ἄνθρωπος, ὡσει χόρτος αἱ ἡμέραι αὐτοῦ· ὡσει ἄνθος τοῦ ἀγροῦ, οὕτως ἐξανθήσει· ὅτι πνεῦμα διῆλθεν ἐν αὐτῷ, καὶ οὐχ ὑπάρξει, καὶ οὐκ ἐπιγνώσεται ἔτι τὸν τόπον αὐτοῦ. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Ψαλμους, Ψαλμος Η' Migne PG 39.1185

'For I look at the heavens, work of your fingers, at the moon and the stars, which you have established; what is man that you are mindful of him, or a son of man, that you should look upon him?' 1 It is those who carefully contemplate who may have expectation of being able to know the heavens and the things of them and how they were established in the beginning. One may even say that the heavens are they who think of high things and not transient things, for these truly are 'the heavens telling of the glory of God.' 2 The moon you may understand as the Church, the stars those who have heard, 'You are the light of the world,' 3 as being from the hands of God, 'For the work of your hands,' it is said, 'are the heavens.' 4 If it may not be said more grandly of created things that they are from the hands of God, and the rest from His fingers. And let it be clear that concerning the body this is understood, and so he continues, 'the son of man', for according to the body not the soul is any 'son of man'. And so after referring to rational substance, he brings in something greater. But he does not say, 'You formed him,' for now he speaks not of creation but of providence. Scripture often deplores human vileness, for it says, ' A man is a vain thing, his days pass like a shadow,' 5 and again 'A man's days are like grass, like flower of the field he passes, because the spirit which is in him will not remain, and his place is not known anymore.' 6 Didymus the Blind, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 8 1 Psa 8. 4-5 2 Ps 18.2 3 Mt 5.14 4 Ps 101.26 5 Ps 143.4 6 Ps 102 15-16

Creating Light

Et dixit Deus: Fiat lux et facta est lux.   Congruit operibus Dei ut mundi ornatum a luce incipiat, cum ipse sit lux vera, lucemque habitet inaccessibilem; cujus beatissima visione mox creati in coelis coelorum angeli jam perfrui coeperant. Apte huic quoque saeculo ornado primam materialis gratiam lucis donavit, ut esset unde caetera quae crearet apparerent. Quod autem dixisse Deus, sive ut lux fieret, sive alia quaeque perhibetur, non nostri more per sonum vocis corporeum fecisse credendus est, sed altius intelligendum dixisse Deum ut fieret creatura, quia per Verbum suum omnia, id est, per unigenitum Filium fecit. De quo manifestius evangelista Joannes: In principio, inquit, erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum. Hoc erat in principio apud Deum; omnia per ipsum facta sunt. Quod ergo ait, omnia facta per Verbum Dei Joannes, hoc est, quod Moyses ait, quia dixit Deus, Fiat lux; dixit, Fiat firmamentum; dixit, Fiat caetera creatura. Hoc quod psalmus adjuncta et Spiritus sancti persona dicit: Verbo Domini coeli firmati sunt, et Spiritu oris ejus omnis virtus eorum. Rabanus Maurus, Commentariorum In Genesim Libri Quatour, Liber I Migne PL 107 447-8

'And God said let there be light and there was light.' 1 It befits the works of God that He begins the ornamentation of the world with light, when He is the true light and dwells in light inaccessible, 2 which with blessed vision the recently created angels of heaven in heaven have already begun to enjoy. Fittingly also concerning this adornment of the world does He give the first grace of material light, that the other things which are to be created appear. And as God spoke, whether 'Let there be light', or whatever other thing He was to bring forth, He should not be thought to have created in a manner like ours, through some sound of the corporeal voice, but it should be thought that in a higher sense God brought creatures into being, because through the Word, the Only begotten Son, He made all things. Concerning which it is made plain in the Gospel of John when he says, 'In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and God was the Word. In the beginning He was with God and through Him all things were made.' 3 Thus John said that everything was made through the Word of God, that is, as Moses said that God spoke, 'Let there be light' and 'Let the firmament be,'  and so on with the other created things He made. And a Psalm adds the person of the Holy Spirit, saying: 'With the Word of the Lord the heavens are made firm and with the Spirit of His mouth every power of them.' 4 Rabanus Maurus, from the Commentary On Genesis, Book I 1 Gen 1.3 21 Tim 6.16 3 Jn 1.1-3 4 Ps 32.6

What Is A Day?

Ἀβραὰμ ὁ πατὴρ ὑμῶν ἠγαλλιάσατο ἵνα ἴδῃ τὴν ἡμέραν τὴν ἐμήν. Ζητητέον τίνα λέγει ἡμέραν. Φαμὲν τοίνυν, ἐπεὶ φῶς ἀληθινὸν καὶ δικαιοσύνης ἥλιός ἐστὶ τε καὶ λέγεται ὁ Σωτὴρ, ἡμέραν κατασκευάζει ἐπ' ἂν ἀνατείλῃ τινὶ δι' ἀρετῆς καὶ θείας γνώσεως. Ἐπεὶ τοίνυν καὶ τῷ Ἀβραὰμ ὤφθη, καταυγάσας αὐτὸν πίστει εἰς δικαιοσύνην, λελογισμένως μετὰ χαρᾶς ἠγαλλιάσατο, ἰδὼν τὴν νοητὴν τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμέραν. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Ἰωαννην Εὐαγγελιον Source: Migne PG 39.1652a

'Abraham your father rejoiced that he saw my day.' 1 One may ask what day he speaks of. I say that the true light and the sun of righteousness is the Saviour, and this day is made for him who rises up by virtue and Divine knowledge. Thus he appeared to Abraham, enlightening him to righteousness, and with good reason he rejoiced, seeing the rational day of the Lord. Didymus The Blind, Commentary On the Gospel of John, Fragment 1 Jn 8.56

Names And Deeds And Gifts

Provoca nunc, ut soles, ad hanc Esaiae comparationem Christi, contendens illam in nullo convenire. Primo enim, inquis, Christus Esaiae Emmanuel vocari habebit, debinc virtutem sumere Damasci et spolia Samariae adversus regem Assyriorum. Porro iste, qui venit, neque sub eiusmodi nomine est editus neque ulla re bellica functus est.  At ego te admonebo, uti cohaerentia quoque utriusque capituli recognoscas. Subiuncta est enim et interpretatio Emmanuelis, Nobiscum Deus; uti non solum sonum nominis spectes, sed et sensum. Sonus enim Hebraicus, quod est Emmanuel, suae gentis est; sensus autem eius, quod est Deus nobiscum, ex interpretatione communis est. Quaere ergo an ista vox, Nobiscum deus, quod est Emmanuel, exinde quo Christus illuxit, agitetur in Christo. Et puto, non negabis, utpote qui et ipse dicas, Deus nobiscum dicitur, id est Emmanuel. Aut si tam vanus es, ut quia penes te Nobiscum deus dicitur, non Emmanuel, idcirco nolis venisse illum cuius proprium sit vocari Emmanuel, quasi non hoc sit et Deus nobiscum, invenies apud Hebraeos Christianos, immo et Marcionitas, Emmanuelem nominare, cum volunt dicere Nobiscum deus; sicut et omnis gens, quoquo sono dixerit Nobiscum deus, Emmanuelem pronuntiavit in sensu sonum expungens. Quodsi Emmanuel Nobiscum deus est, deus autem nobiscum Christus est, qui etiam in nobis est, quotquot enim in Christum tincti estis, Christum induistis, tam proprius est Christus in significatione nominis, quod est Nobiscum deus, quam in sono nominis, quod est Emmanuel. Atque ita constat venisse iam illum qui praedicabatur Emmanuel, quia quod significat Emmanuel venit, id est Nobiscum deus. Aeque et sono nominum duceris, cum virtutem Damasci et spolia Samariae et regem Assyriorum sic accipis quasi bellatorem portendant Christum creatoris, non animadvertens quid scriptura praemittat, quoniam priusquam cognoscat vocare patrem et matrem, accipiet virtutem Damasci et spolia Samariae adversus regem Assyriorum. Ante est enim inspicias aetatis demonstrationem, an hominem iam Christum exhibere possit, nedum imperatorem. Scilicet vagitu ad arma esset convocaturus infans, et signa belli non tuba sed crepitacillo daturus, nec ex equo vel de curru vel de muro, sed de nutricis aut gerulae suae collo sive dorso hostem destinaturus, atque ita Damascum et Samariam pro mammillis subacturus?  Aliud est si penes Ponticos barbariae gentis infantes in proelium erumpunt, credo ad solem uncti prius, dehinc pannis armati et butyro stipendiati, qui ante norint lanceare quam lancinare. Enimvero si nusquam hoc natura concedit, ante militare quam vivere, ante virtutem Damasci sumere quam patris et matris vocabulum nosse, sequitur ut figurata pronuntiatio videatur. Sed et virginem, inquit, parere natura non patitur, et tamen creditur prophetae. Et merito. Praestruxit enim fidem incredibili rei, rationem edendo, quod in signo esset futura. Propterea, inquit, dabit vobis dominus signum: Ecce virgo concipiet in utero et pariet filium. Signum autem a Deo, nisi novitas aliqua monstruosa, iam signum non fuisset. Denique et Iudaei, si quando ad nos deiciendos mentiri audent, quasi non virginem sed iuvenculam concepturam et parituram scriptura contineat, hinc revincuntur quod nihil signi videri possit res cotidiana, iuvenculae scilicet praegnatus et partus. In signum ergo disposita virgo et mater merito creditur, infans vero bellator non aeque. Non enim et hic signi ratio versatur. Sed signo nativitatis novae adscripto exinde post signum alius ordo iam infantis edicitur, mel et butyrum manducaturi.  Nec hoc utique in signum est, malitiae non assentaturi, et hoc enim infantiae est, sed accepturi virtutem Damasci et spolia Samariae adversus regem Assyriorum. Serva modum aetatis et quaere sensum praedicationis, immo redde evangelio veritatis quae posterior detraxisti, et tam intellegitur prophetia quam renuntiatur expuncta. Maneant autem orientales illi Magi in infantia Christum recentem auro et ture munerantes, et acceperit infans virtutem Damasci sine proelio et armis. Nam praeter quod omnibus notum est, orientis virtutem, id est vim et vires, auro et odoribus pollere solitam, certe est creatori virtutem ceterarum quoque gentium aurum constituere, sicut per Zachariam, Et Iudas praetendet apud Hierusalem et congregabit omnem valentiam populorum per circuitum, aurum et argentum. De illo autem tunc auri munere etiam David, Et dabitur illi ex auro Arabiae; et rursus, Reges Arabum et Saba munera offerent illi. Nam et Magos reges habuit fere oriens, et Damascus Arabiae retro deputabatur, antequam transcripta esset in Syrophoenicen ex distinctione Syriarum, cuius tunc virtutem Christus accepit, accipiendo insignia eius, aurum scilicet et odores; spolia autem Samariae ipsos Magos, qui cum illum cognovissent et muneribus honorassent et genu posito adorassent quasi Deum et regem sub testimonio indicis et ducis stellae. Tertullianus, Adversus Marcionem, Liber III, Caput XII  Migne PL 2 336-337

And you challenge us now, as is your custom, with Isaiah's description of Christ, contending that it is in no way suitable. For firstly you say that Isaiah's Christ will have to be called Emmanuel, 1 and then that He must take way the power of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria against the king of Assyria. 2 And yet the one who has come was neither born under this name, nor engaged in any warfare. But I admonish you that you should look into the meanings of both passages. For there is added the interpretation of Emmanuel, 'God with us;' so that you should not merely attend to the sound of the name, but also the sense. The speech is Hebrew, of his own people, that is, 'Emmanuel,' but the sense of it, 'God with us,' is by translation made common to all. Seek, then, whether this name, 'God with us,' which is 'Emmanuel,' since Christ enlightened, be not used for Christ. And I think you will not deny it, since you say He is called 'God with us,' that is, Emmanuel. Else if you are so vain, that, because with you He is called 'God with us', not Emmanuel, you therefore are unwilling to allow that He has come whose right it is to be called Emmanuel, as if this were not God with us, you will find among the Hebrew Christians, and even the Marcionites, that they name Him Emmanuel when they mean God with us, just indeed as every nation, by whatever sound they would use to say 'God with us', has called Him Emmanuel, with the meaning erasing the word. Now since Emmanuel is 'God with us', and 'God with us' is Christ, who is even in us, for 'as many of you as are baptized into Christ, have put on Christ' 3, so Christ is in the meaning of the name, which is 'God with us', as He is in the pronunciation of the name, which is Emmanuel. And thus it holds that He has already come who was foretold as Emmanuel, because that which Emmanuel signifies has come, that is to say, 'God with us'. And you are equally led away by the sound of names, when you so understand the power of Damascus, and the spoils of Samaria, and the king of Assyria, as if they portended that the Creator's Christ would be a warrior, not attending to the prediction contained in the passage, 'For before the Child shall have knowledge to say father and mother, He shall take away the power of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria against the king of Assyria.' 2 You should first look to the description of age, whether it is able to show Christ as a man, much less a general. Although certainly by his cry the infant might be about to call to arms, he might be about to sound the alarm, not with a trumpet but with a little rattle, he might be about to seek the enemy, not on horseback, nor in chariot, nor from the wall, but from nurse's neck or maid's back, and so subjugate Damascus and Samaria from His mother's breasts. It is different, of course, when the babies of barbarian Pontus spring forth to battle. I believe they are anointed first in sunshine and then armed and rationed with bread and butter. 4 Now if it is allowed that nature nowhere grants that warfare be learned before life, to take the power of Damascus before he knows his father and mother's name, it follows that this is figurative speech. But, he may say, nature does not allow 'a virgin to conceive,' and yet the Prophet is believed. And with merit, for he has prepared beforehand trust in  the incredible thing, giving a reason for it, that it was to be a sign for the future. 'Therefore,' he says, 'the Lord himself shall give you a sign; behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son.' 5 Now a sign from God, unless it were something novel and notable, would not have been a sign. And then some Jews, attempting to disconcert us with falsehoods, say that Scripture does not read that a virgin is to conceive and give birth but only a young woman, but they are refuted because nothing can be a sign that is a daily occurrence, that is, a young woman being pregnant and giving birth. As a sign, then, a virgin and mother is rightly adjudged, but a warlike infant is not like this, for in this the sense of the sign is not grasped. But after the sign of the strange and novel birth, afterwards is declared as another sign the course of the Infant, who was to eat butter and honey. Not that this indeed is as a sign, nor is His 'refusing the evil,' for this, too, is of infancy, but His taking of the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria against the king of Assyria is indeed a sign. Attend to the statement of the age, and seek the sense of the prophecy, and do give back to the truth of the Gospel what you later took from it, and so, renouncing its omissions, the prophecy is understood. Let those eastern Magi wait on the new born Christ, offering to Him in His infancy, their gifts of gold and frankincense, and surely an Infant shall receive the might of Damascus without a battle and unarmed. For besides what is known to all, that the might of the East, that is, its strength and resources, usually consist of gold and spices, it is certainly true of the Creator, that He makes gold the riches of the other nations also, as He says by Zechariah: 'And Judah shall also fight at Jerusalem and shall gather together all the wealth of the nations round about, gold and silver.' 6 And then concerning that gift of gold, David also says: 'And there shall be given to Him of the gold of Arabia,' 7 and again: 'The kings of Arabia and Saba shall offer to Him gifts.'  8 For the East generally regarded the Magi as kings, and Damascus in the past was deemed to belong to Arabia, before it was transferred to Syrophœnicia in the division of the Syria, which riches Christ then received, accepting its tokens, gold and spices, while the spoils of Samaria were the Magi themselves, who when they found Him and honoured Him with their gifts, on bended knee adored Him as God and King, by the witness of the star which led their way and guided them. Tertullian, from Against Marcion, Book 3, Chap 12 1 Is 7.14   2 Is 8.4 3Gal 3.27  4 Marcion was from Pontus 5 Is 7:14   6 Zech 14.14  7 Ps 71.15  8 Ps 71.10

Creation And Consciousness

Tunc surgens imperavit ventis, et mari, et facta est tranquillitas magna. Porro homines mirati sunt, dicentes: Qualis est hic, quia venti et mare obediunt ei? Ex hoc autem loco intelligimus quod omnes creaturae sentiant creatorem: quibus enim imperatur, sentiunt imperantem: non errore haereticorum, qui omnia putant animantia sensibilia esse; sed maiestate conditoris, quae apud nos insensibilia sunt, illi sensibilia sunt. Non discipuli, sed nautae, et caeteri qui in navi erant, mirabantur. Sin autem quis contentiose voluerit eos, qui mirabantur, fuisse discipulos, respondebimus, recet homines appelatos, qui necdum noverant potentiam Salvatoris. Sanctus Hieronymus, In Evangelium Matthaei Commentarius, Lib I, Cap IX Migne PL 26 53-54

Then He arose and commanded the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. But the men marvelled, saying, 'What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?' 1 From this we understand that all creation is conscious of its Creator; for that which is commanded is conscious of He who commands. Not by the error of the heretics who think that everything animate is conscious, but by the majesty of the Maker things which to us have no consciousness, do so to Him. And not the disciples, but the sailors and the rest who were in the boat marvelled. However, if someone wishes to contend that they who marvelled were the disciples, yet rightly they are named men who do not yet understand the power of the Saviour. Saint Jerome, from the Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, Book 1, Chapter 9 1 Mt 8.26-27

Word And Man

Οὐ γὰρ δὴ περικεκλεισμένος ἦν ἐν τῷ σώματι· οὐδὲ ἐν σώματι μὲν ἦν, ἀλλαχόσε δὲ οὐκ ἦν. Οὐδὲ ἐκεῖνο μὲν ἐκίνει, τὰ ὅλα δὲ τῆς τούτου ἐνεργείας καὶ προνοίας κεκένωτο· ἀλλὰ τὸ παραδοξότατον, Λόγος ὤν, οὐ συνείχετο μὲν ὑπό τινος· συνεῖχε δὲ τὰ πάντα μᾶλλον αὐτός· καὶ ὥσπερ ἐν πάσῃ τῇ κτίσει ὤν, ἐκτὸς μέν ἐστι τοῦ παντὸς κατ' οὐσίαν, ἐν πᾶσι δέ ἐστι ταῖς ἑαυτοῦ δυνάμεσι, τὰ πάντα διακοσμῶν, καὶ εἰς πάντα ἐν πᾶσι τὴν ἑαυτοῦ πρόνοιαν ἐφαπλῶν, καὶ ἕκαστον καὶ πάντα ὁμοῦ ζωοποιῶν, περιέχων τὰ ὅλα καὶ μὴ περιεχόμενος, ἀλλ' ἐν μόνῳ τῷ ἑαυτοῦ Πατρὶ ὅλος ὢν κατὰ πάντα· Οὕτως καὶ ἐν τῷ ἀνθρωπίνῳ σώματι ὤν, καὶ αὐτὸς αὐτὸ ζωοποιῶν, εἰκότως ἐζωοποίει καὶ τὰ ὅλα καὶ ἐν τοῖς πᾶσιν ἐγίνετο, καὶ ἔξω τῶν ὅλων ἦν. Καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ σώματος δὲ διὰ τῶν ἔργων γνωριζόμενος, οὐκ ἀφανὴς ἦν καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς τῶν ὅλων ἐνεργείας. Ψυχῆς μὲν οὖν ἔργον ἐστὶ θεωρεῖν μὲν καὶ τὰ ἔξω τοῦ ἰδίου σώματος τοῖς λογισμοῖς, οὐ μὴν καὶ ἔξωθεν τοῦ ἰδίου σώματος ἐνεργεῖν, ἢ τὰ τούτου μακρὰν τῇ παρουσίᾳ κινεῖν. Οὐδέποτε γοῦν ἄνθρωπος διανοούμενος τὰ μακρὰν ἤδη καὶ ταῦτα κινεῖ καὶ μεταφέρει· οὐδὲ εἰ ἐπὶ τῆς ἰδίας οἰκίας καθέζοιτό τις καὶ λογίζοιτο τὰ ἐν οὐρανῷ, ἤδη καὶ τὸν ἥλιον κινεῖ, καὶ τὸν οὐρανὸν περιστρέφει.  Ἀλλ' ὁρᾷ μὲν αὐτὰ κινούμενα καὶ γεγονότα, οὐ μὴν ὥστε ἐργάζεσθαι αὐτὰ δυνατὸς τυγχάνει. Οὐ δὴ τοιοῦτος ἦν ὁ τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγος ἐν τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ· οὐ γὰρ συνεδέδετο τῷ σώματι, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον αὐτὸς ἐκράτει τοῦτο, ὥστε καὶ ἐν τούτῳ ἦν καὶ ἐν τοῖς πᾶσιν ἐτύγχανε, καὶ ἔξω τῶν ὄντων ἦν, καὶ ἐν μόνῳ τῷ Πατρὶ ἀνεπαύετο. Καὶ τὸ θαυμαστὸν τοῦτο ἦν, ὅτι καὶ ὡς ἄνθρωπος ἐπολιτεύετο, καὶ ὡς Λόγος τὰ πάντα ἐζωογόνει, καὶ ὡς Υἱὸς τῷ Πατρὶ συνῆν. Ὅθεν οὐδὲ τῆς Παρθένου τικτούσης ἔπασχεν αὐτός, οὐδὲ ἐν σώματι ὢν ἐμολύνετο, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον καὶ τὸ σῶμα ἡγίαζεν. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐν τοῖς πᾶσιν ὤν, τῶν πάντων μεταλαμβάνει, ἀλλὰ πάντα μᾶλλον ὑπ' αὐτοῦ ζωογονεῖται καὶ τρέφε ται.  Εἰ γὰρ καὶ ἥλιος ὁ ὑπ' αὐτοῦ γενόμενος καὶ ὑφ' ἡμῶν ὁρώμενος, περιπολῶν ἐν οὐρανῷ, οὐ ῥυπαίνεται τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς σωμάτων ἁπτόμενος, οὐδὲ ὑπὸ σκότους ἀφανίζεται, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον αὐτὸς καὶ ταῦτα φωτίζει καὶ καθαρίζει, πολλῷ πλέον ὁ πανάγιος τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγος, ὁ καὶ τοῦ ἡλίου ποιητὴς καὶ κύριος, ἐν σώματι γνωριζόμενος οὐκ ἐρυπαίνετο, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον ἄφθαρτος ὤν, καὶ τὸ σῶμα θνητὸν τυγχάνον ἐζωοποίει καὶ ἐκαθάριζεν, ὃς ἁμαρτίαν γάρ, φησίν, οὐκ ἐποίησεν, οὐδὲ εὑρέθη δόλος ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτοῦ. Ἅγιος Ἀθανάσιος, Περὶ τῆς ἐνανθρωπήσεως τοῦ Λόγου Migne PG 25 125

For He was not circumscribed in the body, nor, while in the body, was He not elsewhere, nor, while there, was the universe bereft of His working and providence, but, most wonderfully, being the Word, He was not contained by something but rather contained all things, and just as He is in everything created He is also separate in being from the universe, but in all things by His own power, ordering all things, and over all and in all manifesting His own providence, to each thing and all things giving life, encompassing the whole without being encompassed, but being in His own Father alone wholly and in every respect, thus even in a human body and Himself giving life to it, He was fittingly giving life to the universe as well and was in everything and was outside the whole. And while known from the body by works, He was not hidden from the working of the universe. It is a work of the soul to behold even that which is outside its own body by  thoughts but not working outside its own body or by its presence moving things far from it. Never does a man, by thinking of things at a distance, move or displace them, nor if he were to sit in his own house and reason about the heavenly bodies, would he thus move the sun or make the heavens revolve, but he sees that they move and exist without being actually able to influence them. Now, the Word of God in man was not like that, for He was not bound to the body but rather He was wielding it, so that He was in it and in everything, and while apart from things, dwelt in His Father only. And this was the wonder, that He was existing as a man and giving life to everything as the Word and as the Son dwelling with His Father. Whence not even when the Virgin bore Him did He suffer change, nor by being in the body was He stained but rather He sanctified the body. For not even by being in everything is he changed by everything but rather all things are given life and nourished by Him. For if the sun, which was made by Him, which we see as it revolves in the heaven, is not dulled by touching the bodies of the earth, nor is it obscured by darkness, but rather it illuminates and brightens these things, much less was the all holy Word of God, Maker and Lord also of the sun, defiled by being known in the body, but rather, being incorruptible, He gave life to and cleansed the mortal body, for it says, 'No sin He did and no cunning was found in his mouth.'  1   Saint Athanasius, from On The Incarnation of the Word 1 1 Pet 2.22

Leaven And The Incarnation

Ζύμῃ ἡ Βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν ἀφωμοίωται, τῇ τοῦ Κυρίου καὶ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ἀναμαρτήῳ σαρκώσει, ἀναφυρασάσῃ τὸν ἄπαντα κόσμον, καὶ ἑνὸς σώματος ὑποστάσει, ἐκ τῆς ἡμετέρας οὐσίας καὶ τῆς θεοτόκου Μαρίας ληφθέντος, τὴν ἀπ' αἰῶνος ἀνθρωπότητα εἰς παλιντοκίαν ἀνακαινισάσῃ.  Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΣΑ', Διδυμῳ  Migne PG 78. 312

The kingdom of heaven is compared to leaven, 1 and this is the Incarnation of our Lord and Saviour without fault, mixing with the whole world, of one body, taken from our substance and from the God bearing Mary, that from eternity he might renew humanity to be born again. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 201, to Didymus 1 Mt 13.33

The Tree Of Life

Et erit tanquam lignum quod plantatum est secus decursus aquarum, quod fructum suum dabit in tempore suo. Et folium ejus non defluet, et omnia quaecunque faciet, prosperabuntur. Quae ista beatitudo est, quae ligno arboris comparatur nisi intelligamus in paradiso, illo beatorum loco, lignum vitae in medio lignorum aliorum de terra productum? Inter multa enim ligna quae erant speciosa ad aspectum, et bona ad escam, etiam hoc lignum terra produxit, et in medio paradisi erat; ut caetera ligna ejus viriditate florerent. Quod esse hoc lignum dicimus, nisi per quod nobis salus venit? Et recte hoc terra produxit, qui eum Virgo generavit, quae erat terra secundum auctoris sententiam, quae in eum dictat, 'Terra es, et in terram ibis'  Pulchre quoque in medio legitur lignorum aliorum; qui erat in medio apostolorum discentium, vel quia in medio erat mentis et cordis, sicut ipse ait: 'Medius vestrum stat, quem vos nescitis. Et alibi ait: 'Ego autem in medio vestrum sum. Denique et de ipso Salomon dixit: Lignum vitae est omnibus percipientibus eam. Qui ergo beatus est, imitator erit Domini Jesu, qui est lignum vitae, lignum sapientiae, plantatum in utero Virginis, voluntate Patris: a quo in perpetuum mansurum plantatur, ut fructum daret in tempore suo. Non enim potuit arescere ista plantatio, quae habebat ubertatem in se manentem gratiae spiritalis. Denique plenus Spiritu sancto Jesus regressus est ab Jordane. Hi sunt decursus aquarum de quibus dicitur in Evangelio: Flumina de ventre ejus fluent aquae vivae. Hoc autem dicebat de spiritu quem incipiebant accipere qui credituri erant. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, Enarrationes In XII Psalmos Davidicos, Enarratio in Psalmum I  Migne PL 14 940-41

'And he shall be as a tree planted by flowing waters, which gives its fruit in its time. And the leaf of it shall not pass away, and in all that he does he will prosper.' 1 What is this blessing, which is compared to to the wood of the tree, unless we understand that in paradise, that place of the blessed, in the midst of other trees, the tree of life is produced? Among many trees that are fair to see and good for eating, even this tree the land produces, and in the midst of paradise it was, that other trees by its viridity flourish. What shall we say of this wood unless that by it salvation comes to us? And rightly here the land produced this one whom the Virgin bore, she who is the land according to the understanding of the Creator, who said to him, 'You are earth and into earth you shall go.' 2 And rightly also in the midst of the other trees it is said to be, He who taught in the midst of the Apostles, or because He was in the midst of mind and heart, as He himself said, 'Among you stands Him whom you do not know.'  3 And elsewhere He says, 'In the midst of you I am.' 4 Then Solomon says of Him : 'A tree of life it is to everyone who grasps it.' 5 So he who is blessed, he shall be an imitator of our Lord Jesus, who is the tree of life, the tree of wisdom, planted in the womb of the Virgin by the will of the Father, which is planted to remain forever, and that gives its fruit in its own time. For he was not able to destroy this which has been planted which has in it the fruit of spiritual grace. 6 Then full of the Holy Spirit Jesus withdrew from the Jordan. These are the flowing waters of which it is said in the Gospel. 'Rivers of living water will flow from his bosom. This He spoke concerning the spirit which they would began to receive who believed in him.' 7 Saint Ambrose, Commentary on the Psalms, Psalm 1 1 Ps 1.3 2 Gen 3.19 3 Jn 1.26 4 Luc 22.27 5 Prov 3.18 6 cf Mt 15.13 7 Jn 7.38-39

The Teaching Of Mary

Maria autem conservabat omnia verba hæc, conferens in corde suo. Discamus sanctae Virginis in omnibus castitatem, quae non minus ore pudica quam corpore, argumenta fidei conferebat in corde. Si Maria a pastoribus discit, cur tu declinas discere a sacerdotibus? Si Maria ante praecepta apostolica tacet, cur tu post apostolica praecepta magis cupis docere quam discere? Disce vitium esse personae, non sexus; sexus enim sanctus. Denique Maria praeceptum non accepit, exemplum edidit. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, Expositio Evangelii Secundum Lucam, Liber II Source: Migne PL 15.1572a-b

But Mary treasured up all these sayings, and reflected on them in her heart. 1 Let us learn in all things the chastity of the blessed Virgin, which was not less in mouth than in body, the matters of the faith having taken into her heart. If Mary learns from the shepherds, why do you decline to learn from priests? If Mary before the Apostolic preaching was silent, why do you after the Apostolic preaching desire more to teach than to learn? Learn that fault is of the person not the sex; the sex is sacred. Mary, not receiving the office of preaching, proclaimed by example. Saint Ambrose of Milan, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Luke, Book 2 1 Lk 2.19

Miracles And Nature

Ἐπὶ γὰρ Θεοὺ οὐ δεῖ τῇ φύσει τῶν πραγμάτων προσέχειν, ἀλλὰ τῇ δυνάμει τοῦ ἐνεργοῦντος πιστεύειν. Φύσεως γάρ ἐστι νόμος, ὅταν γυνὴ προσμιλήσασα γάμοις τέκῃ· ὅταν δὲ παρθένος ἀπειρόγαμος τεκοῦσα πάλιν παρθένος φανείη, ὑπερ φύσιν τὸ πρᾶγμα. Το οὖν κατὰ φύσιν ζητείσθω, τὸ δὲ ὑπὲρ φύσιν σιγῇ τιμάθω, οὐχ ὡς φευκτὸν, ἀλλ' ὡς ἀπόῥῥητον, καὶ σιωπῇ τιμᾶσθαι ἄξιον. Ἀλλ' ἀπονείματέ μοι συγγνώμην, πατακαλῶ, ἐν προοιμίοις καταπαῦσαι τὸν λόγον βουλομένῳ. Δειλὸς γὰρ ὤν πρὸς τὴν τῶν κρειττόνων ἕρευναν, πῶς ἢ ποῦ τρέψω τῶν λόγων τὰ πηδάλια οὐχ ἔχω. Τί γὰρ εἴπω, ἢ τί λαλήσω; Τὴν τεκοῦσαν ὁρῶ, τὸν τεχθέντα βλέπω, τὸν δὲ τρόπον τῆς γεννήσεως οὐ συνορῶ· νικᾶται γὰρ φύσις, νικᾶται καὶ τάξεως ὅρος, ὅπου Θεὸς βούλεται. Οὐ γὰρ κατὰ φύσιν γέγονε τὸ πρᾶγμα· ἀλλ' ὑπὲρ φύσιν τὸ θαῦμα· ἤργησε γὰρ ἡ φύσις, καὶ ἐνήργησε τοῦ Δεσπότου τὸ βούλημα. Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος, Εἰς τὸ γενέθλιον τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, Λόγος. Source: Migne PG 56. 388

It is not necessary to look for God to work within nature, but to have faith in the power of the work. For it is a law of nature that when a woman in joined in matrimony she gives birth, but when a virgin unmarried gives birth and again appears a virgin, so nature is surpassed. Thus what is done according to nature one may seek but truly when nature is superseded then one should revere in silence, not as a thing to be shunned but as a thing ineffable, and so rightly with silence we venerate. Yet give to me this allowance, I ask, that in the beginning I bring an end to speech. For there is grave concern in the understanding of sublime things, and I do not know how to order my words. What then should I say, or what should I tell? I see a women who gave birth, a child born I discern, but the manner of the generation I do not grasp; for nature is conquered, conquered are the bounds of the ordinary, when God so wishes. For this did not happen according to nature but nature is surpassed by a miracle, for nature subsides when the will of God works. Saint John Chrysostom, from A Sermon on the Birthday of Our Saviour Jesus Christ

The Counsel Of God

Περὶ βουλῆς Θεοῦ· καὶ ὅτι ἄτρεπτος, καὶ ἀνέφικτος ἀνθρώποις ὑπάρχει. Κύριος διασκεδάζει βουλὰς ἐθνῶν, ἀθετεῖ δὲ λογισμοὺς λαῶν.  Ὡς φοβερὸς ἐν βουλαῖς ὑπὲρ τοὺς υἱοὺς ἀνθρώπων.  Πολλοὶ λογισμοὶ ἐν καρδίᾳ ἀνθρώπου· ἡ δὲ βουλὴ τοῦ Θεοῦ μένει εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα.  Ἃ ὁ Θεὸς ἅγιος βεβούλευται, τίς διασκεδάσει;  καὶ τὴν χεῖρα τὴν ὑψηλὴν τίς ἀποστρέψει; Τάδε λέγει Κύριος Σαβαὼθ, λέγων·  Ὃν τρόπον εἴρηκα, οὕτως ἔσται, καὶ ὃν τρόπον βεβούλευμαι, οὕτως μενεῖ.  Ποῦ εἰσιν οἱ σοφοί σου;  καὶ ἀναγγειλάτωσάν σοι ὅ τι βεβούλευται Κύριος Σαβαώθ. Τίς ἔγνω νοῦν Κυρίου, ἢ τίς σύμβουλος αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο, ὃς συμβιβάσει αὐτόν;  ἢ πρὸς τίνα συνεβουλεύσατο, καὶ συνεβίβασεν αὐτόν;  Θεὸς αἰώνιος ὁ κατασκευάσας τὰ ἄκρα τῆς γῆς.  Οὐ πεινάσει, οὐδὲ κοπιάσει, οὐδὲ ἔστιν ἐξεύρεσις τῆς φρονήσεως αὐτοῦ. Ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ Θεὸς, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἄλλος πλὴν ἐμοῦ. Πᾶσα ἡ βουλή μου στήσεται, καὶ πάντα ὅσα βεβούλευμαι, ποιήσω·  ἐλάλησα, καὶ ἤγαγον· ἔκτισα καὶ ἐποίησα αὐτό. Τὸ ῥῆμά μου ὃ ἐὰν ἐξέλθῃ ἐκ τοῦ στόματός μου, οὐ μὴ ἀποστραφῇ πρός με κενὸν, ἕως ἂν συντελέσῃ πάντα ὅσα ἠθέλησα. Τίς ἀνδρῶν γνώσεται βουλὴν Θεοῦ;  ἢ τίς ἐνθυμηθήσεται τί θέλει ὁ Κύριος;  λογισμοὶ γὰρ θνητῶν δειλοὶ, καὶ ἐπισφαλεῖς αἱ ἐπίνοιαι αὐτῶν. Μόλις γὰρ εἰκάζομεν τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, καὶ τὰ ἐν χερσὶν εὑρίσκομεν μετὰ πόνου·  τὰ δὲ ἐν οὐρανοῖς τίς ἐξιχνίασεν;  βουλὴν δέ σου τίς ἔγνω; Ὅπου Θεὸς βούλεται, νικᾶται φύσεως τάξις.  Εἰ ἠβουλήθη γὰρ, ἠδυνήθη.  Άγιος Ιωάννης ο Δαμασκηνός, Τὰ Ιἐρα Παραλληλα, Στοικειον Β'  Τιτλ Βʹ.  Migne PG 95 1264-1265

On The Counsel of God, that men are neither able to change or understand it. 'The Lord scatters the counsels of men, He reproves the thoughts of the peoples.' 1 'He is terrible in counsel over the sons of men.' 2 'Many the thoughts in the heart of a man, the counsel of God remains in eternity.' 3 'What the holy Lord has willed, who shall discount? And His high hand who shall escape?' 4 This says the Lord of Hosts: 'As I have spoken, so it shall be, and as I have willed it, so it will remain. Where are your wise ones, O men? Let them cry out to you how the Lord of Hosts is resolved. 5 'Who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been His counsellor, that he teach Him? From whom has He received advice and who has instructed Him? God eternal, who created the ends of the earth. He does not hunger, nor does He toil, nor is there finding out of His mind.' 6 'I am God and there is no other apart from me. All I will shall be and everything which I have resolved, I shall do. I spoke and it came to be, I created and it was. 7 'My word which has gone forth from my mouth, shall not return empty to me, until it complete all that I have wished.' 8 Who among men is able to know the counsel of God? Of who is able to conceive what God wishes? Fearful the thoughts of men and uncertain our foresight. With difficulty we judge the things in the world and what is in our sight with toil we discover. That which is in the heavens, who shall investigate? Your reasoning who shall know? 9 When God wishes it, the order of nature is conquered; for if He wishes it, so it is done. 10   Saint John of Damascus, Sacred Parallels, Letter B, Chap 2 1 Ps 32.10 2 Ps 68.5 3 Prov 19.21 4 Is 14.28 5 Is 19.12 6. Is 40. 13-14 7 Is 48.15 8 Is 55.11 9 Wis 9. 13,16 10 Chrysostom Homily on the Nativity of Christ.

Son And Unicorn

Καὶ ὁ ἠγαπημένος ὡς υἱος μονοκερώτων. Ὁ μονογενὴς Υἱος, ὁ διδοὺς ζωὴν τῷ κόσμῳ, ὅταν μὲν προσφέρῃ θυσίαν καὶ προσφορὰν ἑαυτὸν τῷ Θεῷ ὑπὲρ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἡμῶν, καὶ ἀμνὸς ὀνομάζεται, τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ πρόβατον. Ἴδε γὰρ, φησὶν, ὁ ἀμνὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ· καὶ πάλιν· Ὡς πρόβατον ἐπὶ σφαγὴν ἤχθη. Ὅταν δὲ ἀμύνασθαι δέῃ καὶ καθελεῖν τὴν δυναστείαν τὴν ἐπιφυομένην τῷ γένει τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ἐκτεθηριωμένην τινὰ καὶ ἀπηγριωμένην δύναμιν, τότε υἱος μονοκερώτων ὀνομάζεται. Ζῶον γὰρ, ὡς ἐν τῷ Ἰὼβ μεμαθήκαμεν, ὁ μονόκερώς ἐστιν ἄμαχον τὴν δύναμιν, ανυπότακτον τοῖς ἀνθρώποις. Οὐ γὰρ δήσεις αὐτὸν, φησὶν, ἱμάντι, οὐδε κοιμηθήσεται ἐπὶ φάτνης. Καὶ πολλὰ περὶ τοῦ ἐλευθεριάζειν τὸ ζώον καὶ μὴ ὑπείκειν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἐν ἐκείνῳ τῷ μέρει τῆς προφητείας εἴρηται. Καὶ παρατετήρηται, ὅτι ἐπ' ἀμφότερα κεχρηται τῇ εἰκόνι τοῦ μονοκέρωτος ἡ Γραφή· ποτὲ μὲν ἐπαινετῶς, ἄλλοτε δὲ διαβεβλημένως. Ῥῦσαι γὰρ, φησὶν, ἐκ ῥομφαὶς τὴν ψυχήν μου, καὶ ἀπὸ κεράτων μονοκερώτων τὴν ταπείνωσιν μου. Τὸν πολεμοποιὸν λαὸν διαβάλλων ταῦτα φησι παρὰ τὸν καιρὸν τοῦ πάθους ἐπαναστάντα αὐτῷ. Πάλιν δὲ, Ὑψωθήσεται, φησὶν, ὡς μονοκέρωτος τὸ κέρας μου. Ἔοικεν οὖν διὰ μὲν τὸ ἁμυντικὸν τοῦ ζώου ἐπὶ τὴν τῶν χειρόνων εἰκασίαν  πολλάκις παραλαμβάνεσθαι, διὰ δὲ τὸ ὑψίκερων καὶ ἑλευθέριον πρὸς τὴν τοῦ βελτίονος ἄγεσθαι εἰκασίαν. Καὶ ὅλως, ἐπειδὴ τὸ κέρας ὑπὸ τῆς Γραφῆς ἀντὶ τῆς δόξης πολλαχοῦ παρειλημμένον ἔστιν εὑρεῖν, ὡς τὸ, Ὑψώσει κέρας λαοῦ αὐτοῦ· καὶ, Τὸ κέρας αὐτοῦ ὑψωθήσεται ἑν δόξῃ· ἢ καὶ ἐπειδὴ τὸ κέρας ἀντὶ δυνάμεως πολλάκις παραλαμβάνεται· ὡς τὸ, Ὕπερασπιστής μου καὶ κέρας σωτηρίας μου· Χριστὸς δὲ Θεοῦ δύναμις· διὰ τοῦτο ὡς ἔν ἔχων κέρας, τουτέστι μίαν δύναμιν ἔχων τὴν τοῦ Πατρὸς, μονόκερως προσηγόρευται. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Ὁμιλία Ἐις Τους Ψαλμούς, Εἰς Τον ΚΗ' Ψαλμον  Source: Migne PG 29 296

'And beloved as a son of the unicorns.' 1 The only begotten Son who gave life to the world when He offered himself to the Lord as a sacrifice and oblation for our sins, is named the lamb of God and the sheep, 'Behold the lamb of God,' 2 and 'As a sheep led to the slaughter.'  3 But when to ward off and pull down the growing power of the race of men, like some unbroken and untamed power, so He is named the son of the unicorn. For we learn in Job that the unicorn is an animal of unconquerable virtue and never subject to men. It says, 'For you will not bind him nor will he sleep in a stable.'  4 For that the animal is a great lover of liberty and not tameable by men is spoken of in this part of prophecy. But it has been observed that in one part of Scripture the likeness to a unicorn is used in laudatory fashion and in another to dispraise. 'Seize,' David says,'my soul from the swords and my humility from the horns of the unicorns.' 5 He spoke these things against a warring people, when a time of distress had come upon him. For again it is said, 'He shall exult my horn like the unicorn.' 6 And it seems on account of the passion of the animal for revenge that is often understood in a bad sense, and contrariwise on account of its high horn and desire for freedom, it is used in a good sense. And in sum, because we find that Scripture often employs the horn as a sign of glory, for example, 'He shall exult the horn of his people,' 7 and 'His horn he shall exult in glory,' 8  this is because the horn is understood as virtue, that is, 'My protector and horn of my salvation.'  9 And Christ is the power of God, therefore He is named as He who has one horn, that is, He has one common power with the Father. Saint Basil of Caesarea, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 28 1 Ps 28.6 2 Jn 1.29 3 Act 8.32, Isa 53.7 4 Job 39.10 5 Ps 21.22 6 Ps 91.11 7 Ps 148.14 8 Ps 111.9 9 Ps 17.3

The Little Ones

Quaestio 1 Quod dictum est: Occisos infantes a bimatu et infra, significatum est humiles habentes geminam caritatem, tamquam parvulos bimos posse mori pro Christo. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensi, Quaestionum Septendecim In Evangelium Secundum Matthaeum Source: Migne PL 35.1365

Question 1 When it is said, 'Killing the babes two years old and less,' 1 here is signified those humble ones who have the twofold love, 2 just as those two year old little ones who were able to die for Christ. Saint Augustine of Hippo, Seventy Questions On The Gospel Of Matthew 1 Mt 2.16 2 Mt 22.37-40