Opening the library…

Home Bible Corpus Discover You

Search the Bible

Against Beron and Helix

Hippolytus

Fragment 8

About this work

Author: Hippolytus

Fragment VIII.

Into this error, then, have they been

carried

,

by

believing

,

unhappily

,

that

that

divine

energy

was

made

the

property

of

the

flesh

which

was

only

manifested

through

the

flesh

in

His

miraculous

actions

;

by

which

energy

Christ

,

in

so

far

as

He

is

apprehended

as

God

,

gave

existence

to

the

universe

,

and

now

maintains

and

governs

it

.

For

they

did

not

perceive

that

it

is

impossible

for

the

energy

of

the

divine

nature

to

become

the

property

of

a

being

of

a

different

nature

apart

from

conversion

;

nor

did

they

understand

that

that

is

not

by

any

means

the

property

of

the

flesh

which

is

only

manifested

through

it

,

and

does

not

spring

out

of

it

according

to

nature

;

and

yet

the

proof

thereof

was

clear

and

evident

to

them

.

For

I

,

by

speaking

with

the

tongue

and

writing

with

the

hand

,

reveal

through

both

these

one

and

the

same

thought

of

my

intelligent

soul

,

its

energy

(

or

operation

)

being

natural

;

in

no

way

showing

it

as

springing

naturally

out

of

tongue

or

hand

;

nor

yet

(

showing

)

even

the

spoken

thought

as

made

to

belong

to

them

in

virtue

of

its

revelation

by

their

means

.

For

no

intelligent

person

ever

recognised

tongue

or

hand

as

capable

of

thought

,

just

as

also

no

one

ever

recognised

the

perfectly

holy

flesh

of

God

,

in

virtue

of

its

assumption

,

and

in

virtue

of

the

revelation

of

the

divine

energy

through

its

medium

,

as

becoming

in

nature

creative

.

But

the

pious

confession

of

the

believer

is

that

,

with

a

view

to

our

salvation

,

and

in

order

to

connect

the

universe

with

unchangeableness

,

the

Creator

of

all

things

incorporated

with

Himself

a

rational

soul

and

a

sensible

body

from

the

all

-

holy

Mary

,

ever

-

virgin

,

by

an

undefiled

conception

,

without

conversion

,

and

was

made

man

in

nature

,

but

separate

from

wickedness

:

the

same

was

perfect

God

,

and

the

same

was

perfect

man

;

the

same

was

in

nature

at

once

perfect

God

and

man

.

In

His

deity

He

wrought

divine

things

through

His

all

-

holy

flesh

,

—

such

things

,

namely

,

as

did

not

pertain

to

the

flesh

by

nature

;

and

in

His

humanity

He

suffered

human

things

,

—

such

things

,

namely

,

as

did

not

pertain

to

deity

by

nature

,

by

the

upbearing

of

the

deity

.

He

wrought

nothing

divine

without

the

body

;

nor

did

the

same

do

anything

human

without

the

participation

of

deity

.

Thus

He

preserved

for

Himself

a

new

and

fitting

method

by

which

He

wrought

(

according

to

the

manner

of

)

both

,

while

that

which

was

natural

to

both

remained

unchanged

;

to

the

accrediting

of

His

perfect

incarnation

,

which

is

really

genuine

,

and

has

nothing

lacking

in

it

.

Beron

,

therefore

,

since

the

case

stands

with

him

as

I

have

already

stated

,

confounding

together

in

nature

the

deity

and

the

humanity

of

Christ

in

a

single

energy

,

and

again

separating

them

in

person

,

subverts

the

life

,

not

knowing

that

identical

operation

is

indicative

of

the

connatural

identity

only

of

connatural

persons

.

Notes

1
ἰδίωμα.
2
ἑτεροφανοῦς οὐσίας.
3
δημιουργόν.
4
ἐνουσιώσας.
5
Or sensitive, αἰσθητικοῦ.
6
ἀνοχῇ πάσχων θεότητος.
7
γυμνὸν σώματος.
8
ἄμοιρον δράσας θεότητος.
9
καινοπρεπῆ τρόπον.
10
τὸ κατ᾽ ἄμφω φυσικῶς ἀναλλοίωτον.
11
εἰς πίστωσιν.
12
ἐνανθρωπήσεως. [See Athanasian Creed, in Dutch Hymnal.]
13
μηδὲν ἐχούσης φαυλότητος.
14
ἐνεργείας μονάδι.
15
ταυτουργίαν.
16
μόνης τῆς τῶν ὁμοφυῶν προσώπων ὁμοφυοῦς ταυτότητος.