Letter 23: Regarding the three days and nights of the Lord's burial: the reckoning is straightforward if you understand Jewish...

To Theophilos. On the saying, "Every male that opens the womb," and against the Theopaschites and those who say there is one nature in Christ. What is said in divine Scripture, that "Every firstborn male that opens the womb shall be holy to the Lord," is not said concerning every firstborn — let the ignorant not suppose so — but concerning that one and only one who opened the womb in being born. For every other womb is opened by sexual intercourse and union; but the womb that bore our Lord Jesus Christ, he himself opened, being born without seed and beyond nature. For the saying establishes the uniqueness of Christ's birth, showing that he alone opened the womb by his very birth, since no prior union had broken the seal of virginity. This refutes both the Theopaschites, who confuse the natures, and those who claim one nature in Christ, for the miracle of the birth demonstrates the two natures united without confusion — the divine nature effecting the miraculous conception and birth, and the human nature providing the womb and the flesh. The Scripture therefore carefully distinguishes the one who opens the womb by being born from all others whose birth follows the natural course of things, pointing to the singular and unprecedented character of the incarnation of the Lord.

Τῷ Θεοφίλῳ Εἰς τὸ, « Πᾶν ἄρσεν διανοίγον μήτραν, καὶ κατὰ Θεοπασχητῶν, καὶ τὴν [Ι. τῶν] μίαν ἐπὶ Χριστοῦ φύσιν εἶναι λεγόντων. Τὸ εἰρημένον ἐν τῇ θείᾳ Γραφῇ, ὅτι « Πᾶν πρωτό- τοκον διανοίγον μήτραν, ἅγιον τῷ Κυρίῳ, » οὐ περὶ παντὸς εἴρηται πρωτοτόκου· μὴ οὕτως οἱ ἀμαθεῖς νομιζέτωσαν· ἀλλὰ περὶ ἑνὸς [ἐκείνου] καὶ μόνου, τοῦ ἐν τῷ τίκτεσθαι τὴν μήτραν ἀνοίξαντος. Πᾶσαν γὰρ μήτραν μίξις καὶ συνουσία ἀνοίγνυσι· τὴν δὲ τὸν Κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν κυήσασαν, αὐτὸς Τῷ Θεοφίλῳ In illud, e Omne masculinum adaperiens vulvam, et contra eos qui dicunt Deum passum esse, et unam esse in Christo naturam. Id quod in sacra Scriptura dictum est, Omne primogenitum adaperiens vulvam, sanctum Do- mino vocabitur, non de omni primogenito di- ctum est (ne hoc imperiti homines existiment), verum de uno illo ac solo, qui in partu vulvam aperuit. Etenim omnem quidem vulvam concubitus ac venereus complexus aperit: at eam, quæ Domi- ΚΓ΄. – ΕΥΤΟΚΙΩ ΔΙΑΚΟΝΟ. Ἡ μὲν εἰλικρινὴς καὶ ἀκριβὴς ἐλευθερία ἐστὶ, τὸ μηδενὸς ὅλως δεῖσθαι, ὅπερ (11) κρεῖττον ὃν τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης φύσεως, θεῖον ἔστω. Ἡ δὲ μετ᾿ ἐκείνην, ΕΠΙΣΤΟΛΗ ΜΓ΄. ΜΑΡΙΑΝΩ. Ἐπειδὴ ἀεὶ σοὶ πείθεσθαι ὁ παρὼν μᾶλλον ἢ αἱρεῖσθαι κατηχεῖται, μήτ' ἐκείνου ἐλέγχειν ἀφικόμενος. Ἐπειδὴ ὅταν τινὲς στέργωσίν, ἀν πλέοσι χάριτος, καὶ ὁ πρῶτος πρὸ τοῦ π ΣΙΒ΄. – ΗΣΑΙΑ ΣΤΡΑΤΙΩΤΗ. Οὐ φημι χρῆναι τοὺς, ὥσπερ σὺ, ἐξ ἀφανῶν καὶ ἀσήμων γονέων, ἀλλ᾽ οὐδὲ τοὺς ἐκ λαμπρῶν καὶ περιφανῶν φύντας, εἰς τοσαύτην ἀλαζονείαν ἐλαύνειν, καὶ τοὺς τῆς φύσεως ὑπερβαίνειν ὄρους. Ἵν' οὖν μὴ ὑπερόρια πταίσας, ὑπερορίους ἀπαιτηθείης δίκας, ταῖς τῆς μετριοφροσύνης ἡνίαις τὴν τῆς ἀλαζονείας ἀνασειράζειν σπούδαζε μανίαν, καὶ ῥύθμιζε σαυτὸν, πρὸς τὸ πρέπον ἀνδρὶ ἐπιεικεῖ σχῆμα, καὶ μήτε δι' ὀφθαλμῶν, μήτε δι᾽ ὀφρύων, μήτε διὰ γλώττης, μήτε διὰ βαδίσματος ίχνος [έσ]τι τῆς τοιαύτης ἐμφαινέσθω νόσου. ``` ΚΡ. ΑΣΚΛΗΠΙΟ ΣΟΦΙΣΤΗ. Εἰ Ξέρξης, ὦ σοφιστά · ἀπὸ γὰρ τῶν σῶν σοι δια λέξομαι· τὸν Ἑλλήσποντον ζεύξας, τὸ τῶν ᾿Αθηναίων φρόνημα οὐκ ἠδυνήθη ζεύξαι τῷ τῆς δουλείας ζυγῷ, ἀλλὰ πάντα μὲν ἐκίνει, καὶ τὸν ταγέντα τοῖς στοι- χείοις ἐκαινοτόμει θεσμόν· ἐκείνους δὲ τῶν δεδογμέ- νων οὐ μετεχίνει · σὺ ἀπὸ συμβουλῆς ψιλῆς ἐνόμι. σας ἡμῶν μετακινεῖν τὸ φρόνημα, καὶ εἰς θωπείαν ---CONTINUES--- ΣΓ. – ΘΕΟΠОΜΠΩ. Περὶ ᾿Αρειανῶν καὶ Εὐνομιανῶν. Οὐδὲν οὕτω τῆς θείας φύσεως ἴδιον, ὡς τὸ ἀΐδιον. Ο τοίνυν μεταγενέστερον τὸν Υἱὸν λέγων τοῦ Πα- τρὸς, ἐξ οὗ ἀνάρχως ἐξέλαμψεν, οὗτος αὐτὸ τὸ χα- ρακτηρίζον τὴν ἀκήρατον οὐσίαν, τὸ γε αὐτοῦ μέρος, ἀναιρεῖ. Καὶ ἀριθμοῦ γὰρ καὶ χρόνου ἐστὶν ἀνωτέρα· καὶ τοῦ πρὸ καὶ μετὰ οὐκ ἀνέχεται, οὐδὲ τὸ πρῶ τον καὶ δεύτερον προσίεται· ἀπρόσιτος γὰρ ἐστιν ὥσπερ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἅπασι, καὶ τούτοις τοῖς ὀνόμασι, δι' ὧν τὰ κτίσματα χαρακτηρίζεται. ΚΓ΄. – ΘΕΩΝΙ ΣΧΟΛΑΣΤΙΚΟ. Πῶς ὁ ᾿Αχαάβ, καίτοι προμαθὼν τὸν θάνατον αὐτοῦ, φυλάξασθαι οὐκ ἠδυνήθη. ΚΓ΄. – ΕΥΑΓΡΙΩ ΜΟΝΑΧΩ. [...]. [...] καίτοι προμαθὼν τὸν ἑαυτοῦ θάνατον, διαφυγεῖν οὐκ ἠδυνήθη. Ἐγὼ δὲ οὐ θαυμάζω· οὐδὲ γὰρ διαφεύγειν οἷόν τε τὴν δίκην. Κλέπτουσα γὰρ τὰς τῶν κλέπτειν αὐτὴν φρένας πειρωμένων, τοὺς βουλομένους αὐτὴν ἐκκλῖναι, εἰς τὰ ἑαυτῶν δίκτυα, δι᾽ ὧν μηχανῶνται, ἐμπίπτειν παρασκευάζει. ΚΓ΄. – ΤΩ ΑΥΤΩ Δέον τὴν ῥοπὴν ἐπιδεικνύναι πᾶσιν, ὡς εὖ συνίησι τὴν ἀλήθειαν, ὅτι σοὶ χρὴ μὴ φροντίζειν τί ποιήσεις, ἀλλὰ τῆς ἀσφαλείας. ΡΜ΄. – ΑΝΔΡΟΝΙΚΩ ΚΟΜΙΤΙ Χρὴ ἄνδρα τὸν κατὰ θεὸν ἐπαιδεμένον, μὴ θαυμάζειν, ἐὰν ἄνδρες, οὓς καὶ γυναικῶν ταπεινοτέρους φημὶ, διασύρωσι, καὶ ὀνειδίζωσι. P. 636, lit. B, lin. 1. Ρ. νόμιμος, cal. νομικός. ibid. 2, P. ὁ δὲ, cat. ἡ δέ. P. 636, liv. B, lin. 4. Ρ. τῷ δὲ συμμ,, cat. τῇ δὲ συμμ. ibid. 4. τιμωρία. Quæ sequuntur in ed. P. lineæ, eas omisit cat. auct., qui pergit in hune mo-