Panarion (Against Heresies) 1 part 78/82

And it conceives from a single mate, and the seed that is deposited completes twenty-six months in the womb, so that the cub, being carried within, comes to full development on account of the time — to the point of already having all its teeth before it comes forth from the womb, and its claws at a settled maturity, and the so-called little pegs and canine teeth, and the molars, and everything else that belongs to the animal.

So then, while it is [still] in the belly, in its leapings, movements, and other ways, it tears at and scrapes, with its claws, the pregnant womb and uterus.

So then, when the mother comes on that day to give birth, the womb becomes entirely estranged from the whole grievous character of the child-bearing nature.

For the natural philosophers say that, together with the birth, both the uterus and the womb are expelled at the same time, so that the female no longer desires [mating] — unless indeed some force should occur; nor, even should she happen to be compelled into some union, is she still able to conceive, since the wombs — that is, the uteri — no longer exist [in her].

[This is] a matter — a certain notion of relation — [applied] rather toward what is beneficial than toward what is harmful.

For whence indeed is a lion ever born, unless the mother is to be called a lioness? But for a lioness a second conception does not occur.

So then, Mary no longer knows conception; the holy Virgin no longer knows the union of bodies.

But let us also consider other lines of reasoning, so that she who continually accompanied Jesus, being always together with him...

Jesus was invited to a wedding, and his mother was there.

And nowhere are the brothers, and nowhere is Joseph.

For he says, 'What have I to do with you, woman? My hour has not yet come.'

And he did not say, 'What have I to do with you, men?' Standing by were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary the mother of Rufus, and the other Mary, and Salome, and others.

And he did not say that Joseph was there, or that James the brother of the Lord was there, who died at a great age, having remained a virgin.

Upon whose head no iron ever came up, who never made use of a bathhouse, who never partook of anything that had had life;

who never put on a second tunic;

who used only a single linen cloak, just as it says in the Gospel, 'the young man fled and left behind the linen cloth in which he had been wrapped.'

For John, and James, and James — these three had this manner of life: the two being sons of Zebedee, and James the son of Joseph being called brother of the Lord because of living in the same household, because of being raised together, because of his having held the rank of a brother, on account of the sole legitimate bond which Joseph had toward Mary, from her having been betrothed to him.

Only to this James was it permitted, once a year, to enter into the Holy of Holies, because he was a Nazirite and was associated with the priesthood.

For from this, Mary happened to be a kinswoman of Elizabeth in two ways, and James was distinguished by his priestly connection, since the two tribes were joined only to one another — the royal tribe to the priestly, and the priestly to the royal — as also above, in the account of the Exodus, Naasson the tribal chief of Judah takes Elizabeth of old, the daughter of Aaron, as his own wife.

Hence many of the heresies are ignorant of the Savior's genealogy according to the flesh, and because of their perplexity they disbelieve and seem to contradict the truth, saying:

This James also wore the golden plate upon his head;

and once, when there was a drought, he lifted up his hands to heaven and prayed, and immediately heaven gave rain.

He never wore a woolen garment.

And his knees grew hard like a camel's, from his always bending them before the Lord out of excessive reverence.

Therefore they no longer called him by name, but 'the Just' was his name.

This man never washed in a bathhouse, this man never partook of anything with life in it, as I have shown above, this man never put on a sandal.

And much could be said about the man and his virtuous manner of life.

You see, then, that the household was altogether most worthy of note.

For if the sons of Joseph knew the order of virginity and the practice of the Nazirites, how much more did the elder and honored man know how to guard a pure virgin and to honor the vessel in which the salvation of mankind had come to dwell? Does not nature itself teach us that the man was elderly, far advanced in age, become great among men, faithful in character, reverent in appearance? For the Gospel says that a man, fearing God, sought to put her away secretly.

…in Jerusalem, having lived after the Savior's ascension for twenty-four years, more or less, having reached a great age, was struck on the head with a fuller's club, was thrown down from the pinnacle of the temple, and having come down and suffered no harm, bent his knees and prayed for those who had thrown him down, saying:

'for they know not what they do' — just as also Symeon, standing at a distance, who was his cousin, the son of Clopas, said, 'Stop! Why do you stone the just man? And behold, he is praying for you the best of things.'

And thus his martyrdom came to pass.

If, then, this man's son was of such an age, how then could his father, seeing such awesome things — angels attending the birth of the son, hymning from the heavens and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will among men,' and the shepherds coming to the cave where he was born, announcing these things, while Joseph, the elder man advanced in years, was listening — how, after so many signs and wonders, could he dare to act insolently and outrage a holy body, in which God had come to dwell? From this very body the dispensation of the incarnate presence was gathered for us; whence the holy, undefiled flesh was built up for us in the divinity of the Savior, as the angel Gabriel there says, saying: 'The Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you;'

therefore also the one born of you shall be called holy, the Son of God.

How then could he dare to be joined to so great and so holy a virgin as Mary? And what would it have profited us, even had he been joined to her — which may it never be! — to inquire about this? And which is the more preferable course: to entrust the matter to God, or to force upon ourselves the worse opinion? That it was indeed not written for us that, unless we believe that Mary was afterward joined again, we do not have eternal life, but come into judgment, is clear;

but it was written that we should seek not what is pleasing, but what is just, what is dignified, so that we may give grace also to those who hear.

But men have left aside the necessary things — the matters of the true faith, the things pertaining to the glorification of God — and, from wherever they may find them, procure for themselves things to their own harm, which, alas, are not even fit to be entertained in thought, especially since Scripture does not say so.

For if Scripture had said so, we would have yielded to the truth and would have entertained no further thought about it.

For is marriage not honorable? Is the marriage bed profane? Is the marriage bed not undefiled? Is marriage thereby falsified? But abstinence is observed on the part of prophets and high priests on account of service to something greater.

For after Moses began to prophesy, he was no longer joined to a woman, no longer begot children, no longer had offspring.

For he kept his life more given over to leisure for the Master's service.

For how could he have remained on Mount Sinai forty nights and forty days, had he been devoted to marriage? Or how could he have been ready for forty years in the wilderness for God's dispensation, and had leisure for the priesthood? And how could he recount the mysteries and converse with God, remaining bound to marriage? For if the holy apostle expressly declares concerning us, and says that couples abstain for a season, that they may have leisure for prayer, how much more true will this word be concerning prophets? Mary, then, was also a prophetess.

For it says, 'he went in to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son.'

'And the Lord said to me, Call his name, Swiftly spoiling, speedily plundering,' and so forth.

And here it signifies the entrance of Gabriel to Mary, when he went out to announce good news to her that she was about to bear a son, God, savior of the world, not from the seed of a man, but through the Holy Spirit.

Moreover, Philip the evangelist also had four daughters who prophesied;

they prophesied, indeed, on account of the virginity which they were deemed worthy to possess.

And Thecla met the holy Paul and dissolved her marriage, though she had a most handsome intended husband, the foremost man of the city, exceedingly rich, and of the noblest and most distinguished rank in life;

and the holy woman despised earthly things, that she might come to possess heavenly things.

These did these things — how much more Mary, upon whom the whole wondrous dispensation came to pass! Whence, then, shall I gather thoughts unto the good, and turn aside the darkness of those who have conceived dreadful things, even as it is written, 'she conceived toil and brought forth iniquity'? For these men truly conceive the toil of evil devisings, and bring forth the iniquity of blasphemies.

But let no one suppose those things, and, attempting to sow them otherwise for himself, say:

How then did the Gospel say:

that Mary was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit, before they came together? Was, then, the coming-together expected, and did it say this for that reason — 'before they came together'? But again, in another place, the same Gospel likewise says, 'and she was found to be with child before they came together,' or, 'and he begot a son and did not know her,' or, 'and she bore her firstborn son and he did not know her,' and, 'he did not know her until she had borne her firstborn son.'

And those who profess to distinguish the deeper meanings of the Scriptures, and who undertake to investigate lofty and most profound matters, do not know that the deeper meaning has this character:

For if Mary had indeed borne children again, it would also have been necessary to mention the names of the other brothers.

And if he is called 'firstborn,' since the Only-begotten is the firstborn of all creation, do not be troubled.

For it did not say that she bore her firstborn, but that 'he did not know her until she bore her son'; and it did not say 'her firstborn,' but 'the firstborn.'

For in speaking of 'her son,' it signified that he was begotten of her according to the flesh; but in the designation 'firstborn,' it no longer added 'her,' but only 'firstborn.'

For this is he who is spoken of by the apostle as 'firstborn of all creation' — not joined together with creation, but begotten before creation.

For he did not say 'first-created,' but 'firstborn,' the reading being distinguished for the better and more secure sense, in that it first says 'firstborn,' and then, in what follows, mentions creation as subordinate.

For the term 'firstborn' applies to the Son, while creation came into being through the Son.

She bore, then, her son, the firstborn — not, however, 'the firstborn of her,' as though she were about to bear another.

He did not know her, then, until he saw the wonder; he did not know the wonder concerning her until he saw that which had been born of her.

But when she had given birth, he came to know also the honor bestowed by God — that she was the one who had heard, 'Hail, full of grace!'

This is she who was signified beforehand in Eve, who received, by way of a riddle, the title of being called 'mother of the living.'

For there she is called 'mother of the living,' and this after hearing, 'You are earth, and to earth you shall return,' after the transgression.

And it was a wonder that after so great a transgression she received so great a title.

And according to the sensible order, from that Eve all the generation of mankind has come to be upon the earth;

but here, truly, from Mary, life itself has been born for the world, that she might bear the Living One, and that Mary might become 'mother of the living.'

By way of a riddle, then, Mary has been called 'mother of the living.'

For concerning the two women it was said: 'Who has given to a woman skill in weaving, or knowledge of embroidery?' For since the first, wise Eve, was weaving sensible garments for Adam, whom she had stripped naked—

for to her was given this labor.

For since through her the nakedness was discovered, to her was given the task of clothing the sensible body, on account of that sensible nakedness.

But to Mary it has been given by God that she should bear for us a lamb and a sheep, and that from the glory of that lamb and sheep there might come to us, as it were from its fleece, in wisdom through his virtue, a garment of incorruption.

But there is also another wondrous thing to consider concerning these, concerning both Eve and Mary.

For Eve became an occasion of death for mankind;

for through her death entered into the world.

But Mary is an occasion of life, through whom life was born for us.

And for this reason the Son of God came into the world.

And where sin abounded, grace abounded all the more.

And whence death came, there life took precedence, so that life might come in place of death, shutting out the death that came through woman — he who again became life for us through a woman.

And since there Eve, while still a virgin, fell into the transgression of disobedience, so again through a virgin came the obedience of grace, when the descent from heaven of the incarnate presence and of eternal life was announced as good news.

For there he says to the serpent, 'And I will put enmity between you and her, and between your seed and her seed.'

But nowhere else is a 'seed of a woman' to be found, except that, according to the riddle, in the case of Eve the enmity is taken as directed against the offspring begotten by him — both the serpent and the devil and envy that came to be in the serpent.

But indeed, in the most perfect sense, the whole cannot be fulfilled in her.

But it will be truly fulfilled in the holy seed, the exceptional, the sole one, the one found from Mary alone and not from union with a man.

For he came to destroy the power of the dragon and the crooked, fleeing serpent who claims to have taken possession of the whole inhabited world.

For this reason the Only-begotten came forth from a woman, for the destruction of the serpent — that is, of evil teaching and corruption and deceit, error and lawlessness.

This one is truly he who opens the womb of the mother.

For all who were born as firstborn — to speak more reverently — were not able to fulfill this, but only the Only-begotten alone, who opened the womb of a virgin.

For in him alone has this been perfected, and in no other.

But this can also be seen from the very subject matter itself.

For the saying is applied to Mary, and to my mind it shall also be a word concerning the Church: 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.'

And the holy apostle says, 'This mystery is great.'

'But I speak concerning Christ and the Church.'

And observe for me the precision of the Scriptures:

that concerning Adam it says he was 'formed,' but concerning Eve it no longer says she was 'formed,' but 'built.'

For, it says, 'he took one of his ribs and built it for him into a woman,' in order to show that the Lord fashioned for himself a body from Mary, and that from his rib the Church was built, in that his side was pierced and the mysteries of the blood and water became for us a ransom.

But nevertheless Joseph 'knew' Mary — not according to any knowledge of use, not according to knowledge of intercourse, but he 'knew' her by honoring the one who was honored by God.

For he did not know her to possess such glory, until he saw the Lord born of a woman.

And the phrase 'before they came together, she was found to be with child' is stated so that the claim of those who suppose the mystery ordained by God to have come from union with a man might never prevail.

For it said, 'before this happened' — namely, that which was expected.

But this thing did not happen.

For even though the virgin was expected [to come] to Joseph for union — though because of his advanced age he did not even accept the idea — nevertheless Scripture anticipates and lays this down for us and confirms our understanding, since, the matter concerning the divine birth being capable of misunderstanding, it persuades us that it was no longer permissible for a man to approach the virgin for union, just as also the angel persuaded Joseph that the suspicion he himself entertained was not the case.

An evil thing would have come about from exposing her to public disgrace, yet it did not come about;

as the angel teaches, saying, 'Do not be afraid to take Mary your wife' — she who had not yet truly become so, and even if you hold a suspicion of wrongdoing regarding her, yet she is not as you think, and so forth.

For immediately thereafter it says, 'for that which is begotten in her,' as of something already conceived, and again, 'she shall bring forth a son,' as of something still future.

And because of this the prior declaration has been confirmed as trustworthy, just as the phrase 'before they came together' also confirms it, we being content that it did not happen at all.

'Until she brought forth her firstborn son' is to be interpreted in the same way, because of the wondrous nature of the knowing concerning the virgin who was honored before God.

Let no one suppose, from the saying 'before they came together,' that they afterward did come together;

for no one is able to demonstrate or indicate this.

But Scripture confirmed this in order to show that the conception of the Savior was undefiled.

The phrase 'he did not know her,' then, is stated on account of her glory;

and 'firstborn,' since he is firstborn before creation came to be, and 'firstborn among many brethren,' according to the apostle — not with reference to the birth from Mary, as though there were other sons from her, but with reference to those deemed worthy to receive through him the adoption as sons, when he truly became her son according to the flesh, so that it might not be supposed to be a mere appearance.

But he is also firstborn and son of the virgin herself, not because she, as I said, has other sons.

For this is similar to his being 'first' before his sojourn on earth.

For he who is truly firstborn of the Father above, before all creation, is not called firstborn because others were begotten of the Father after him.

For he has no second brother, because he is only-begotten.

So also with regard to the incarnate presence, he is forever and always the firstborn of Mary, but by nature he is only-begotten to Mary, having no second brother from her.

And let those who have contrived harmful things against themselves, rather than things conducive to benefit, cease from doing so.

He who honors the Lord honors also the holy vessel, but he who dishonors the holy vessel dishonors also his own Master.

Let Mary be, in her own right, the holy virgin, the holy vessel.

For these things devised for harm do not benefit us;

but we must think more reverently, so that we may not acquire haughtiness, or dissension, or superfluous talk.

For concerning every idle word we shall give an account, according to what is written:

therefore let us take thought for ourselves, let us examine our own affairs, let us not cast our own faults upon the saints, let us not scrutinize the affairs of the saints out of our own [prejudice].

For altogether, certain persons, being driven by force and turning toward the more lustful, and harboring within themselves a corrupt suspicion, wish also to defile the saints, as a plausible defense for their own wicked and weak suspicion;

to whom the apostle says, 'I would that all were as I myself am.'

But how then does he say 'as I myself am,' except with reference to his chastity? 'But because of fornications, let each man have his own wife.'

For he spoke reprovingly, and in a manner that turned it back on them more pointedly.

For he could have said, 'because of your fornications.'

He therefore omitted 'your,' so that it might not seem that he said this to insult certain persons.

But it was said for the condemnation of certain persons who, after living according to the law and reasonably 'knowing' their own vessel for the procreation of children — just as our forefathers of old made use of this practice — were nevertheless unwilling to devote themselves to God.

as also we have found Scripture saying somewhere: 'and Rebecca, having conceived by one man.'

By saying 'by one man,' it related the matter more reverently, yet showed the conception to be legitimate;

for after having had children, it shows that he was no longer united with the woman.

'To the right, nor yet to the left' — since evil again turns against us in another way amid the very same considerations, pushing our sound judgment to walk once more down other paths, let us therefore take care lest excessive praise of the virgin become, for someone, an occasion of stumbling into another fantasy.

For those who blaspheme against the Son, as has already been shown by me above, have striven to alienate him by nature from the divinity of the Father;

but others, thinking otherwise, moved as though to honor him all the more, said that the Father is the very same, and the Son the same, and the Holy Spirit the same.

But the wound is incurable for both parties.

So also concerning this holy and blessed Ever-Virgin, some have dared to insult her outrageously, [saying] that she was united in the flesh [with a man] after that greatest and most pure dispensation of the Lord's incarnate presence,

and this is the most impious of all wickedness.

But even as we say we have been astonished, having heard that some have thus dared so readily to give themselves over to sin, so also we have been astonished again, having heard of the other matter;

for again we have heard of others acting foolishly with regard to the matter of this same holy Ever-Virgin, having been eager and being eager to introduce her in place of God, and being carried along in a certain stupor and derangement of mind.

For it is related that certain women there in Arabia, from the region of Thrace, have brought in this very piece of empty talk: that they perform a certain cake-offering in the name of the Ever-Virgin, and gather together for this purpose, and attempt something beyond all measure in the name of the holy virgin, undertaking an unlawful and blasphemous practice, and performing sacred rites in her name through women;

which whole thing is impious and unlawful, having been corrupted from the proclamation of the Holy Spirit;

so that the whole thing is a diabolical operation and a teaching of an unclean spirit.

For in these also is fulfilled the saying: 'Some will depart from sound teaching, giving heed to myths and teachings of demons.'

For, he says, they will be worshippers of the dead, just as also among Israel they were venerated.

And the glory that in due season belonged to the saints before God has become, for others who do not see the truth, an occasion of error.

For in Shechem, that is, in the city now called Neapolis, the local inhabitants perform sacrifices in the name of the Maiden, allegedly on the pretext of the daughter of Jephthah, who was once offered to God as a sacrifice;

and for those who have been deceived, this has become an occasion of harm through idolatry and empty worship.

But also the daughter of Pharaoh, who honored the servant of God Moses, and took him up and raised him — because of the fame the child then had, the Egyptians honored her beyond what was fitting, as if she were a god, and handed this down as an evil tradition to the foolish, for worship.

And they worship Thermouthis, the daughter of Amenophis, who was Pharaoh at that time, since, as I said before, she raised Moses.

And many such similar things have happened in the world, to the error of those who have been deceived — the saints not being the cause of any stumbling to anyone, but rather the mind of men not being at rest, but turning aside to evil things.

For either the holy virgin died and was buried — her falling asleep was in honor, her end in purity, and her crown in virginity —

or she was slain, as it is written, 'and a sword shall pierce through her own soul also' — her glory is among the martyrs, and her holy body among those called blessed, through whom light rose upon the world;

for indeed nothing is impossible for God, to do all things whatsoever he wills;

for no one has known her end — but one ought not to honor the saints beyond what is fitting, but rather to honor their Master.

Let the error of those who have gone astray, therefore, cease.

For Mary is not God, nor does she have her body from heaven, but from the conception of a man and a woman, and she was brought about according to promise, just as Isaac was.

And let no one make offering in her name;

let him rather be behaving with drunken insolence, doing outrage to the holy virgin.

For may it never be! She was not joined in the flesh after the bearing of the Savior, nor before his bearing.

These few things, then, having considered among ourselves, we have written for those who wish to learn the truth of Scripture, and not to rage in vain with their words, nor to arm themselves with a blasphemous tongue.

But if some wish to hold fast to their error and not to accept the things that are beneficial, but rather the opposite, then from us also, lowly as we are, it must be said: 'let him who hears, hear, and let him who disobeys, disobey' — let no one give trouble to the apostles any longer, nor to us either.

For the things we knew to be more dignified and beneficial to the Church, these we have spoken concerning the holy virgin, pleading the cause of her who is in all things full of grace, as Gabriel said: 'Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you.'

But if the Lord is with her, how could she be joined in union with another? And how could she, being kept by the Lord, come near to flesh? The saints are in honor; their rest is in glory; their departure from this world is in perfection; their portion is in blessedness, in holy dwellings; their chorus is with the angels; their abode is in heaven; their citizenship is recorded in the divine Scriptures; their glory is in incomparable and unceasing honor; their prizes are in Christ Jesus our Lord, through whom and with whom be glory to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, unto the ages.

All the brothers greet you; and do you yourselves also greet all the faithful and orthodox brothers among you, who abhor pride, who hate fellowship with the Arians and the wrangling of the Sabellians, but who honor the Trinity as of one substance — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, three hypostases, one essence and one Godhead, and altogether one doxology — and who are not led astray concerning the saving dispensation of our Savior and his coming in the flesh, but who believe perfectly the incarnation of Christ: perfect God, and the very same one perfect man without sin, having taken this very body from Mary, and having taken a soul and a mind and everything that belongs to man, apart from sin — not being two, but one Lord, one God, one King, one High Priest, God and man, man and God, not two but one, united together not into confusion, nor into non-existence, but into a great dispensation of grace.

Being satisfied, then, with the copy of the letter, which stands well as it is, and judging that we have dealt sufficiently with their opposition up to this point, and having by God's help passed beyond it, as though a creeping thing had crept forth from its hole — by the wise teaching and power of God, which breathes forth a fragrance like storax in the world through virtue and the virginity of holy children, beginning from holy Mary, through whom the light that arose from her shone upon the world — having refuted them and exposed the evil poison of their reptilian wickedness, let us again proceed to the others, for the completion of this whole undertaking in God.

Against the Collyridians, who offer sacrifice to Mary — the fifty-ninth heresy, but the seventy-ninth in the series.

Next after this, another heresy has come to notoriety, concerning which we have already made brief mention in the previous section, through the letter written to Arabia concerning the matter of Mary.

And this heresy too appeared again in Arabia, coming from Thrace and the upper parts of Scythia, and it has been reported to our hearing;

which is itself also found by sensible people to be ridiculous and full of mockery.

Let us begin, then, to speak concerning it, and to relate the things pertaining to it;

for this will be judged a matter of foolishness rather than of understanding, just as other heresies similar to it have been.

For just as, much earlier, those who supposed such things through outrage against Mary sow harmful suspicions in the reasonings of men, so also these, having inclined to the other extreme, are caught in an extremity of harm — so that what is sung by some of the pagan philosophers may also be fulfilled in them, in saying, 'the extremes are equal.'