Against Porphyry

Contents

Greek fragments only; staged from Tesseract OCR.

1. 1Christ took flesh and was crucified so that, through the very human nature the demons had used to deceive, they might be overthrown; the cross is the sign of victory, seen in the standards, the ship's mast, the bird's wings, and the outstretched arms of man.
2. 2Divine power can contract itself into a human body; and as fire and air cannot be cut, much more did the divine Wisdom remain impassible though united to the body that was struck and nailed.
3. 3God's standard of beauty is not human opinion: the cross, despised by men, frees souls, restores humanity to the tree of life, and makes Christ the death of death while he remains impassible and immortal.
4. 4Repentance blots out sin only if it is immediate, uprooting evil before it takes root.
5. 5Evil is unlikeness to and ignorance of God; good is likeness to him, conversion, and faith.