Page:Ante-Nicene Christian Library Vol 5.djvu/320

all confidence, for such is His person.^[1] But that according to Luke, taking up [His] priestly character, commenced with Zacharias the priest offering sacrifice to God. For now was made ready the fatted calf, about to be immolated for^[2] the finding again of the younger son. Matthew, again, relates His generation as a man, saying, "The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham;"^[3] and also, "The birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise." This, then, is the Gospel of His humanity;^[4] for which reason it is, too, that [the character of] a humble and meek man is kept up through the whole Gospel. Mark, on the other hand, commences with [a reference to] the prophetical spirit coming down from on high to men, saying, "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, as it is written in Esaias the prophet,"—pointing to the winged aspect of the Gospel; and on this account he made a compendious and cursory narrative, for such is the prophetical character. And the Word of God Himself used to converse wath the ante-Mosaic patriarchs, in accordance with His divinity and glory; but for those under the law he instituted a sacerdotal and liturgical service.^[5] Afterwards, being made man for us. He sent the gift of the celestial Spirit over all the earth, protecting us with His wings. Such, then, as was the course followed by the Son of God, so was also the form of the living creatures; and such as was the form of the living creatures, so was also the character of the Gospel.^[6] For the living creatures are quadriform, and the Gospel is quadriform, as is also the course followed by the Lord. For this reason were four principal (καθο-

1. The above is the literal rendering of this very obscure sentence; it is not at all represented in the Greek here preserved.
2. The Greek is ὑπὲρ; the Latin, "pro."
3. Matt. i. 1, 18.
4. The Greek text of this clause, literally rendered, is, "This Gospel, then, is anthropomorphic."
5. Or, "a sacerdotal and liturgical order," following the fragment of the Greek text recovered here. Harvey thinks that the old Latin "actum" indicates the true reading of the original πρᾶξιν and that τάξιν is an error. The earlier editors, however, are of a contrary opinion.
6. That is, the appearance of the Gospel taken as a whole; it being presented under a fourfold aspect.