PL 35 · cols. 1780–1783

Augustinus, In Joannis Evangelium tractatus LI-LXIV

Tractate LIV

susciperet carnem, oculis hominum, sicut voluit in subjecta sibi creatura, non sicuti est. Mundemus corda per fidem, ut illi ineffabili, et, ut ita dicam, invisibili visioni praeparemur. Beati enim mundo corde, quoniam ipsi Deum videbunt (Matth. V, 8).

He took up flesh, to the eyes of men, as He willed, in a creature subject to Him, not as He is. Let us cleanse our hearts by faith, that we may be prepared for that ineffable and, so to speak, invisible vision. For blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God (Matt. 5:8).

13. Verumtamen et ex principibus multi crediderunt in eum; sed propter Pharisaeos non confitebantur, ut de synagoga non ejicerentur: dilexerunt enim gloriam hominum magis quam gloriam Dei. Videte quemadmodum notaverit Evangelista et improbaverit quosdam, quos tamen in eum credidisse dixit: qui in hoc ingressu fidei si proficerent, amorem quoque humanae gloriae proficiendo superarent, quem superaverat Apostolus, dicens, Mihi autem absit gloriari, nisi in cruce Domini nostri Jesu Christi, per quem mihi mundus crucifixus est, et ego mundo (Galat. VI, 14). Ad hoc enim et ipse Dominus crucem suam, ubi eum dementia superbae impietatis irrisit, in eorum qui in illum crederent frontibus fixit, ubi est quodammodo sedes verecundiae, ut de nomine ejus fides non erubescat, et magis Dei gloriam quam hominum diligat.

13. Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess it, lest they be cast out of the synagogue: for they loved the glory of men more than the glory of God. See how the Evangelist has marked out and censured certain people whom he nevertheless said had believed in Him: if they made progress in this entrance into faith, they would by progressing overcome the love of human glory too, which the Apostle had overcome when he said: But far be it from me to glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world (Gal. 6:14). For to this end the Lord Himself fixed His cross, where the madness of proud impiety mocked Him, on the foreheads of those who would believe in Him, where in a manner is the seat of shame, so that faith may not blush at His name, and may love the glory of God more than that of men.

TRACTATUS LIV.

Tractate 54.

Ab eo quod ait Jesus, Qui credit in me, non credit in me, sed in eum qui misit me; usque ad id, Quae ego loquor, sicut dixit mihi Pater, sic loqnor. Cap. XII, ℣. 44-50.

From where Jesus says, He who believes in Me does not believe in Me, but in Him Who sent Me; as far as, The things which I speak, as the Father has said to Me, so I speak. Chapter 12, verses 44-50.

1. Loquente Domino nostro Jesu Christo apud Judaeos, et tanta miraculorum signa faciente, quidam crediderunt praedestinati in vitam aeternam, quos etiam vocavit oves suas: quidam vero non crediderunt, nec poterant credere, eo quod occulto, nec tamen injusto judicio Dei fuerant excaecati et indurati, deserente illo qui superbis resistit, humilibus autem dat gratiam (Jacobi IV, 6). Eorum autem qui crediderunt, alii usque adeo confitebantur, ut palmarum ramis acceptis venienti occurrerent, in eadem laudis confessione laetantes: alii vero ex principibus non audebant confiteri, ut de synagoga non ejicerentur; quos notavit Evangelista dicens, quod dilexerunt gloriam hominum magis quam gloriam Dei (Joan. XII, 43). Eorum etiam qui non crediderunt, alii erant postea credituri, quos praevidebat, ubi ait, Cum exaltaveritis Filium hominis, tunc agnoscetis quia ego sum (Id. VIII, 28): alii vero in eadem infidelitate mansuri, quorum imitatrix est etiam ista gens Judaeorum, quae postmodum debellata, ad testimonium prophetiae quae de Christo scripta est, in toto pene orbe dispersa est.

1. When our Lord Jesus Christ was speaking among the Jews and performing such great signs of miracles, some believed, predestined to eternal life, whom He also called His sheep; but some did not believe, nor were they able to believe, because by the hidden, yet not unjust, judgement of God they had been blinded and hardened, He forsaking them Who resists the proud but gives grace to the humble (Jas. 4:6). Of those, however, who believed, some confessed it to such a degree that, taking branches of palms, they ran to meet Him as He came, rejoicing in that same confession of praise; but others, of the rulers, did not dare to confess it, lest they be cast out of the synagogue; these the Evangelist marked out, saying that they loved the glory of men more than the glory of God (John 12:43). Of those too who did not believe, some were afterwards to believe, whom He foresaw when He said, When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He (John 8:28); but others were to remain in the same unbelief, whose imitator is also that nation of the Jews which, conquered afterwards, has been scattered through almost the whole world as a testimony to the prophecy that was written concerning Christ.

2. His ita se habentibus, et sua jam propinquante passione, Jesus clamavit, et dixit; unde lectio coepit hodierna: Qui credit in me, non credit in me, sed in eum qui misit me: et qui videt me, videt eum qui misit me. Jam dixerat quodam loco: Mea doctrina non est mea, sed ejus qui misit me (Id. VII, 16). Ubi intelleximus eum doctrinam suam dixisse Verbum Patris quod est ipse; et hoc significasse dicendo, Mea doctrina non est mea, sed ejus qui me misit, quod a seipso ipse non esset, sed haberet a quo esset (Supra, Tract. 29). Deus enim de Deo, Filius Patris: Pater autem non

2. These things being so, and His passion now drawing near, Jesus cried out and said (where today's reading began): He who believes in Me does not believe in Me, but in Him Who sent Me; and he who sees Me sees Him Who sent Me. He had already said in a certain place: My teaching is not Mine, but His Who sent Me (John 7:16). There we understood that He called the Word of the Father, which He Himself is, His teaching; and that by saying, My teaching is not Mine, but His Who sent Me, He signified that He was not from Himself, but had One from Whom He was (above, Tractate 29). For He is God from God, the Son of the Father; but the Father not

Editors' notes and page, col. 1780

Page

running head: [cut off at left edge] ANGELIUM, S. AUGUSTINI 1780
marginal letters: (none)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: column begins mid-sentence (susciperet) and ends mid-sentence (non); "loqnor" in the Tractate 54 summary may be a damaged u rather than a true misprint (UNSURE); a grave-accent-like mark on "sic" in the summary is taken as a speck and set as sic; the verse sign before 44-50 is set as ℣; "Tract. 29" read from blurred type, consistent with Tract. 29 on John 7:16; the left-column fragments visible in the images belong to column 1779 and are not set; no editors' matter and no full-width lines in this column.

PL 35:1781

Deus de Deo, sed Deus Pater Filii. Nunc autem quod ait, Qui credit in me, non credit in me, sed in eum qui misit me, quomodo intellecturi sumus, nisi quia homo apparebat hominibus, cum lateret Deus? Et ne putarent hoc eum esse tantummodo quod videbant, talem ac tantum se volens credi, qualis et quantus est Pater, Qui credit in me, inquit, non credit in me, id est, in hoc quod videt; sed in eum qui misit me, id est, in Patrem. Sed qui credit in Patrem, necesse est eum credat esse Patrem; qui autem credit eum Patrem, necesse est ut credat eum habere Filium: ac per hoc qui credit in Patrem, necesse est ut credat in Filium. Sed ne quisquam hoc credat de unigenito Filio, quod de iis qui dicti sunt filii Dei secundum gratiam, non naturam, sicut ait Evangelista, Dedit eis potestatem filios Dei fieri (Joan. I, 12); unde et illud est quod ipse Dominus commemoravit in Lege dictum, Ego dixi, Dii estis, et filii excelsi omnes (Id. X, 34): propterea dixit, Qui credit in me, non credit in me; ne totum quod de Christo creditur, secundum hominem crederetur. Ille ergo, inquit, credit in me, qui non credit in me secundum id quod me videt, sed in eum qui me misit: ut cum credit in Patrem, credat eum habere Filium sibi aequalem, et tunc vere credat in me. Nam si putaverit eum non habere nisi filios secundum gratiam, qui sunt ejus utique creatura, non Verbum, sed facta per Verbum, nec habere Filium aequalem sibi atque coaeternum, semper natum, pariter incommutabilem, ex nullo dissimilem atque imparem; non credit in Patrem qui eum misit, quia non est hoc Pater qui eum misit.

God from God, but God the Father of the Son. But now, as to His saying, He who believes in Me does not believe in Me, but in Him who sent Me, how are we to understand it, except that He appeared to men as a man, while He was hidden as God? And lest they should think that He was only this which they saw, wishing Himself to be believed to be such and so great as the Father is, He who believes in Me, He says, does not believe in Me, that is, in this which he sees; but in Him who sent Me, that is, in the Father. But he who believes in the Father must believe that He is Father; and he who believes Him to be Father must believe that He has a Son: and for this reason he who believes in the Father must believe in the Son. But lest anyone should believe this of the only-begotten Son which is believed of those who are called sons of God according to grace, not nature, as the Evangelist says, He gave them power to become sons of God (John 1:12); whence also is that which the Lord Himself recalled as said in the Law, I have said, You are gods, and all sons of the Most High (ibid. 10:34): for this reason He said, He who believes in Me does not believe in Me; lest the whole of what is believed concerning Christ should be believed according to the man. He, then, He says, believes in Me who does not believe in Me according to that which he sees of Me, but in Him who sent Me: so that when he believes in the Father, he may believe that He has a Son equal to Himself, and then truly believe in Me. For if he should think that He has none but sons according to grace, who are certainly His creation, not the Word, but made through the Word, and that He does not have a Son equal to Himself and coeternal, always born, equally unchangeable, in nothing unlike or unequal, he does not believe in the Father who sent Him, because the Father who sent Him is not this.

3. Et ideo cum dixisset, Qui credit in me, non credit in me, sed in eum qui misit me; ne putaretur sic voluisse Patrem intelligi tanquam Patrem multorum filiorum per gratiam regeneratorum, non unici Verbi aequalis sibi, continuo subjecit, Et qui videt me, videt eum qui misit me. Numquid ait, Qui videt me, non videt me, sed eum qui misit me; sicut dixerat, Qui credit in me, non credit in me, sed in eum qui misit me? Illud namque dixit, ne sicut videbatur, crederetur tantummodo filius hominis: hoc autem dixit, ut Patri crederetur aequalis. Qui credit in me, inquit, non credit in hoc quod videt me, sed credit in eum qui misit me. Aut cum credit in Patrem qui sibi aequalem genuit me; non quomodo me videt, sed sic credat in me, quomodo in eum qui misit me: usque adeo enim nihil distat inter eum et me, ut qui me videt videat eum qui me misit. Apostolos suos certe ipse Dominus Christus misit, quod eorum etiam nomen indicat: nam sicut graece angeli, latine nuntii vocantur, ita graece apostoli, latine missi appellantur. Nunquam tamen aliquis apostolorum dicere auderet, Qui credit in me, non credit in me, sed in eum qui misit me: omnino enim non diceret, Qui credit in me. Credimus enim apostolo, sed non credimus in apostolum: non enim apostolus justificat impium. Credenti autem in eum qui justificat impium, deputatur fides ejus ad justitiam (Rom. IV, 5). Posset dicere apostolus, Qui recipit me, recipit eum qui me misit; vel, Qui audit me, audit eum qui me misit: hoc enim eis ipse

3. And therefore, when He had said, He who believes in Me does not believe in Me, but in Him who sent Me, lest it should be thought that He wished the Father to be understood thus, as the Father of many sons regenerated through grace, not of the only Word equal to Himself, He at once added, And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. Did He say, He who sees Me does not see Me, but Him who sent Me, as He had said, He who believes in Me does not believe in Me, but in Him who sent Me? For He said the former lest He should be believed to be only the son of man, as He was seen to be; but He said the latter so that He might be believed to be equal to the Father. He who believes in Me, He says, does not believe in this which he sees of Me, but believes in Him who sent Me. Or, when he believes in the Father who begot Me equal to Himself, let him believe in Me not as he sees Me, but as in Him who sent Me: for so far is there no difference between Him and Me, that he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. The Lord Christ Himself certainly sent His apostles, as their very name indicates: for just as in Greek they are called angels who in Latin are called messengers, so in Greek they are called apostles who in Latin are called sent ones. Yet none of the apostles would ever dare to say, He who believes in me does not believe in me, but in Him who sent me: for he would not say at all, He who believes in me. For we believe the apostle, but we do not believe in the apostle: for the apostle does not justify the ungodly. But to him who believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness (Rom. 4:5). An apostle could say, He who receives me receives Him who sent me; or, He who hears me hears Him who sent me: for the Lord Himself says this to them,

Editors' notes and page, col. 1781

Page

running head: 1781 TRACTATUS LIV. CAPU[...] (cut off at the image edge)
marginal letters: (none)
old-edition numerals: (none)

PL 35:1782

Dominus ait, Qui vos recipit, me recipit, et qui recipit me, recipit eum qui me misit (Matth. X, 40). Quia dominus honoratur in servo, et pater in filio: sed pater tanquam in filio, dominus tanquam in servo. Filius autem unigenitus recte dicere potuit, Credite in Deum, et in me credite (Joan. XIV, 1); et quod nunc ait, Qui credit in me, non credit in me, sed in eum qui misit me. Non a se abstulit fidem credentis, sed noluit in forma servi remanere credentem: quoniam cum quisque credit in Patrem qui eum misit, profecto credit in Filium, sine quo Patrem non esse cognoscit; et ita credit ut credat aequalem, quoniam sequitur, Et qui videt me, videt eum qui me misit.

He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me (Matt. 10:40). For a master is honoured in his servant, and a father in his son: but the father as in a son, the master as in a servant. The only-begotten Son, however, could rightly say, Believe in God, and believe in Me (John 14:1); and what He now says, He who believes in Me does not believe in Me, but in Him who sent Me. He did not withdraw from Himself the faith of the believer, but He did not want the believer to remain in the form of a servant: since when anyone believes in the Father who sent Him, he certainly believes in the Son, without whom he knows that there is no Father; and he so believes that he believes Him to be equal, since there follows, And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me.

4. Attende caetera: Ego lux in mundum veni, ut omnis qui credit in me, in tenebris non maneat. Dixit quodam loco discipulis suis, Vos estis lux mundi. Non potest civitas abscondi super montem constituta, neque accendunt lucernam, et ponunt eam sub modio, sed super candelabrum, ut luceat omnibus qui in domo sunt: sic luceat lumen vestrum coram hominibus, ut videant opera vestra bona, et glorificent Patrem vestrum qui in coelis est (Matth. V, 14-16): non tamen eis dixit, Vos lux venistis in mundum, ut omnis qui credit in vos, in tenebris non maneat. Nusquam hoc legi posse confirmo. Lumina ergo sunt omnes sancti; sed credendo ab eo illuminantur, a quo si quis recesserit tenebrabitur. Lumen autem illud quo illuminantur, a se recedere non potest; quia incommutabile omnino est. Credimus ergo lumini illuminato, sicut prophetae, sicut apostolo: sed ideo illi credimus, ut non in ipsum credamus quod illuminatur, sed cum illo credamus in illud lumen a quo illuminatur; ut e⟨t⟩ nos illuminemur, non ab illo, sed cum illo a quo ille⟨.⟩ Cum autem dicit, Ut omnis qui credit in me, in tenebris non maneat; satis manifestat omnes se in tenebris invenisse: sed ne in eis tenebris maneant in quibus inventi sunt, debent credere in lucem quae venit in mundum, quia per illam factus est mundus.

4. Attend to the rest: I have come as light into the world, that everyone who believes in Me may not remain in darkness. He said in a certain place to His disciples, You are the light of the world. A city set upon a mountain cannot be hidden, nor do they light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but upon a lampstand, that it may give light to all who are in the house: so let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven (Matt. 5:14–16): yet He did not say to them, You have come as light into the world, that everyone who believes in you may not remain in darkness. I affirm that this can nowhere be read. All the saints, then, are lights; but by believing they are illumined by Him, from whom if anyone withdraws he will be darkened. But that Light by which they are illumined cannot withdraw from itself; for it is altogether unchangeable. We believe, then, a light that has been illumined, such as a prophet, such as an apostle: but we believe him for this reason, that we may not believe in that very thing which is illumined, but together with him may believe in that Light by which he is illumined; so that we too may be illumined, not by him, but together with him by That by which he [is illumined]. But when He says, That everyone who believes in Me may not remain in darkness, He shows clearly enough that He found all in darkness: but lest they remain in that darkness in which they were found, they ought to believe in the Light which came into the world, because through it the world was made.

5. Et si quis audierit, inquit, verba mea, et non custodierit, ego non judico eum. Mementote quae vos audisse in superioribus lectionibus novi; et qui obliti forte estis, recolite; et qui non adfuistis, sed adestis, audite quomodo dicit Filius, Ego non judico eum; cum dicat alio loco, Pater non judicat quemquam, sed omne judicium dedit Filio (Joan. V, 22): nisi quia intelligendum est, Modo non judico eum. Quare non judicat modo? Attende quid sequitur: Non enim veni, inquit, ut judicem mundum, sed ut salvificem mundum: id est ut salvum faciam mundum. Nunc ergo est tempus misericordiae, post erit judicii: quia, Misericordiam, inquit, et judicium cantabo tibi, Domine (Psal. C, 1).

5. And if anyone hears, He says, My words and does not keep them, I do not judge him. Remember what I know you heard in the earlier readings; and you who have perhaps forgotten, recall it; and you who were not present, but are present now, hear how the Son says, I do not judge him; although He says in another place, The Father judges no one, but has given all judgement to the Son (John 5:22): unless it is to be understood, I do not judge him now. Why does He not judge now? Attend to what follows: For I have not come, He says, to judge the world, but to save the world: that is, to make the world safe. Now, therefore, is the time of mercy; afterwards will be [the time] of judgement: because, Mercy, it says, and judgement will I sing to Thee, Lord (Ps. 100:1).

6. Sed de ipso etiam futuro novissimo judicio videte quid dicat: Qui spernit me et non accipit verba mea, habet qui judicet eum: sermo quem locutus sum, ille judicabit eum in novissimo die. Non ait, Qui spernit me, et non accipit verba mea, ego non jodico eum in novissimo die. Hoc enim si dixisset, non video quomodo posset non esse contrarium illi sententiae

6. But concerning that future last judgement itself also, see what He says: He who spurns Me and does not receive My words has one who judges him: the word which I have spoken, that will judge him on the last day. He does not say, He who spurns Me and does not receive My words, I do not judge him on the last day. For if He had said this, I do not see how it could not be contrary to that statement

Editors' notes and page, col. 1782

Page

running head: TUS LIV. CAPUT XII. 1782 (start of running head cut off at the left edge)
marginal letters: (none)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: left-hand strip of column 1781 visible in images 1-2, not set; "ut e⟨t⟩" final letter damaged; full stop after "a quo ille" not visible, supplied as ⟨.⟩; "in tene / bris" broken twice without hyphen, joined as tenebris; "maneant in" has damaged n; "posset" first letter damaged in type; "coelis" read as œ ligature, unsure against æ; small-capital numerals set as capitals (X, XIV, V, C); Google watermark not set

PL 35:1783

ubi ait, Pater non judicat quemquam, sed omne judicium dedit Filio. Cum vero dixit, Qui spernit me, et non accipit verba mea, habet qui judicet eum; exspectantibus autem quisnam ille esset, secutus adjunxit, Sermo quem locutus sum, ille judicabit eum in novissimo die: satis manifestavit semetipsum judicaturum in novissimo die. Seipsum quippe locutus est, seipsum annuntiavit, seipsum januam posuit, qua ipse ad oves pastor intraret. Aliter itaque judicabuntur qui non audierunt, aliter qui audierunt et contempserunt. Qui enim sine Lege peccaverunt, ait Apostolus, sine Lege et peribunt: et qui in Lege peccaverunt, per Legem judicabuntur (Rom. II, 12).

where He says, The Father judges no one, but has given all judgement to the Son. But when He said, He who spurns Me and does not receive My words has one who judges him, and they were waiting to learn who that might be, He went on and added, The word that I have spoken, that will judge him on the last day. He thereby made it plain enough that He Himself will judge on the last day. For it was Himself that He spoke, Himself that He announced, Himself that He set up as the door through which He, the shepherd, might enter to the sheep. So those who have not heard will be judged in one way, and those who heard and despised in another. For those who have sinned without the Law, says the Apostle, will also perish without the Law; and those who have sinned in the Law will be judged by the Law (Rom. 2:12).

7. Quia ego, inquit, ex meipso non sum locutus. Ideo se dicit non locutum ex seipso, quia non est ex seipso. Jam hoc saepe diximus; jam hoc tanquam notissimum non docere sed admonere debemus. Sed qui misit me Pater, ipse mihi mandatum dedit quid dicam et quid loquar. Non laboraremus, si cum eis nos loqui sciremus, cum quibus superiora locuti sumus, et cum eis ipsis non omnibns, sed quae audierunt memoria retinentibus: nunc vero quia fortasse aliqui adsunt qui non audierunt, eisque sunt similes qui obliti sunt quod audierunt, propter illos perferant moras nostras qui audita meminerunt. Quomodo dat mandatum Pater unico Filio? Quo verbo loquitur Verbo, cum sit ipse Filius unigenitum Verbum? Numquid per angelum, cum per ipsum creati sint Angeli? Numquid per nubem: quae quando sonuit ad Filium, non propter ipsum sonuit, quod alibi dicit etiam ipse; sed propter alios quos oportebat ita audire? Numquid per sonum labiis emissum, qui non habet corpus; nec aliquo locorum intervallo Filius a Patre separatur, ut sit inter illos aer medius, quo percusso vox fiat et in aurem veniat? Absit ut talia de illa incorporea et ineffabili substantia suspicemur. Filius unicus est Verbum Patris, et Sapientia Patris; in illa sunt omnia mandata Patris. Neque enim Patris mandatum Filius aliquando nesciebat, ut eum necesse esset ex tempore habere quod antea non habebat. Ita enim a Patre quod habet accepit, ut nascendo acceperit, dederitque illi gignendo. Nam et vita est, et accepit vitam utique nascendo, non prius sine vita existendo. Quia et Pater habet vitam, et quod habet est: nec accepit tamen, quia non ex aliquo est. Filius autem accepit vitam, dante Patre a quo est: et ipse quod habet, est; habet enim vitam, et vita est. Ipsum audi loquentem: Sicut habet, inquit, Pater vitam in semetipso, sic dedit et Filio vitam habere in semetipso (Joan. V, 26). Numquid existenti, et non habenti dedit? Sed eo dedit quo genuit, qui vitam genuit, et vita genuit vitam. Et quia parem genuit, non imparem vitam; ideo dictum est, Sicut habet ipse vitam in semetipso, sic dedit et Filio vitam habere in semetipso. Vitam dedit, quia gignendo vitam, quid dedit, nisi esse vitam? Et quia aeterna est ipsa nativitas, nunquam non fuit Filius qui est vita, nunquam fuit Filius sine vita; et sicut est nativitas aeterna, sic est qui natus est vita aeterna. Ita et mandatum non quod Filius non habebat, Pater

7. For I, He says, have not spoken from Myself. He says that He has not spoken from Himself for this reason: He is not from Himself. We have said this often already. It is by now so well known that we ought not to teach it but only to call it to mind. But the Father who sent Me, He has given Me a commandment, what I should say and what I should speak. We would not be labouring if we knew we were speaking with those to whom we spoke the earlier things, and even with them, not all of them, but only those who retain in memory what they heard. But now, since perhaps some are present who did not hear, and those who have forgotten what they heard are like them, let those who remember what they heard bear with our delays for their sake. How does the Father give a commandment to the only Son? By what word does He speak to the Word, since the Son Himself is the only-begotten Word? Is it through an angel, when the angels were created through Him? Is it through a cloud? When the cloud sounded to the Son, it did not sound for His sake, as He Himself says elsewhere, but for the sake of others who needed to hear in that way. Is it through a sound sent out from lips, when He has no body? Nor is the Son separated from the Father by any interval of place, so that the air might be between them, by the striking of which a voice is produced and reaches the ear. Far be it from us to suspect such things of that incorporeal and ineffable substance. The only Son is the Word of the Father and the Wisdom of the Father; in that [Wisdom] are all the commandments of the Father. For there was never a time when the Son did not know the Father's commandment, so that it would have been necessary for Him to acquire in time what He did not have before. For He received from the Father what He has in such a way that He received it by being born, and the Father gave it to Him by begetting. For He is also life, and He received life precisely by being born, not by existing first without life. The Father too has life, and He is what He has; yet He did not receive it, because He is not from anyone. But the Son received life, the Father from whom He is giving it; and He too is what He has, for He has life and He is life. Hear Him speaking: As the Father, He says, has life in Himself, so He has given also to the Son to have life in Himself (John 5:26). Did He give it to one already existing and not having it? No, He gave it by the very act of begetting Him: He begot life, and Life begot life. And because He begot life equal, not unequal, to Himself, it was said, As He has life in Himself, so He has given also to the Son to have life in Himself. He gave life: since in begetting life, what did He give except to be life? And because the birth itself is eternal, there never was a time when the Son, who is life, did not exist; never was the Son without life. And as the birth is eternal, so He who was born is eternal life. So too the commandment: not that the Son did not have it, the Father

Editors' notes and page, col. 1783