Read twenty-seven books by Theodoret, bishop of Cyrrhus, against
various heretical propositions.[141] The first book is directed
against those who assert that the God-Word was one nature and that
it took its beginning from the seed of David, and also against those
who attribute passions to the Godhead. In the second, he supports his
contentions more by arguments from Scripture.[142] The third deals
with the same subject. The fourth contains the teachings of the holy
Fathers concerning the glorious Dispensation (Incarnation)[143] of
our Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God. The fifth contains a collection
of the opinions of the heretics, which are compared with the opinion
of those who do not admit two natures in Christ and shown to be
nearly akin. The sixth distinctly states that there is one Son, our
Lord Jesus Christ. The seventh is in the form of a letter completing
the first book. The eighth is written against those who judge the
truth only by the opinion of the multitude. The ninth is against
those who assert that we should neither seek arguments nor quote from
the Scriptures, but that we must be satisfied with our faith. The
tenth is against those who malevolently bring forward the argument
that “the Word was made flesh.” The eleventh is against those who
forbid us to assume two natures in the Incarnation. The twelfth is
against those who assert that he who says the Word is one thing and
the flesh another, assumes there are two Sons. The thirteenth is
against those who say that to regard Christ as a man is to put one’s
hopes in man. The fourteenth is against those who say, “He suffered
without suffering.” The fifteenth is against those who say, “He
suffered as he willed.” The sixteenth is against those who say that
we ought to accept the words, without regard to what is signified
by them, which is beyond all men’s understanding. The seventeenth
is against those who say, “The Word suffered in the flesh.” The
eighteenth is against those who ask what punishment the Jews would
have suffered, if they had not crucified God. The nineteenth is
against those who declare that he who does not believe that God was
crucified is a Jew. The twentieth is against those who assert that
the angels who ate with Abraham did not entirely put on the nature
of flesh. The twenty-first is against those who depreciate each of
the miracles, by denying the flesh. The twenty-second is against
those who injure our race, by denying that the Saviour began with
our nature. The twenty-third is against those who bid us simply
believe what is said, without considering what is seemly or what is
unseemly. The twenty-fourth is against those who do away with the
difference of the two natures, after the Passion and the Ascension.
The twenty-fifth is a summary of all that has already been stated
in detail. The twenty-sixth deals with the subsequently manifested
composition or consubstantiation; the twenty-seventh with the example
from the ordinary man (applied to Christ). The subject alone in
each case is sufficient to indicate which of the above confirm the
orthodox faith, and which are at variance with it.
Read in the same volume three larger works than those mentioned,
entitled _Eranistes_ (the Beggar) or _Polymorphos_ (multiform).[144]
The first teaches that the Word is unchangeable; the second, that the
union is unmixed; the third, that the God-Word is impassible. In a
fourth book, these statements are supported by argument. The three
books were composed by him in the form of a dialogue, but the rest
are in continuous prose. The style is clear, distinct, and pure; not
wanting in charm, and the works abound in suitable reflections.