The Recapitulation of Humanity in Christ
…things belonging to humanity that alone are fitting to the united Word; since indeed the Emmanuel is the one, alone, and true Son, he is understood toward us to be both God and man. "You have subjected all things under his feet."
He begins, he says, with the thoughts toward the construction of man in the beginning and what first became; but he is occupied with how we have been made by God according to his image and likeness, and we have been richly honored, having received to rule over the things upon the earth. Since indeed the beginning of the race, that is, Adam, has grieved the divine commandment, and the human intellect has moreover become very easy toward wrongdoing, by this we are deprived in the world of glory and incorruption and of the good things in the beginning; yet we have been saved through Christ, and by the grace from him we have acquired the things formerly given toward ascension.
The breadth of the following word widens to include such narrations; for the divinely-inspired David has laid down the excess of the day toward us: "What indeed is man," he says, "that you should remember him, or son of man, that you should visit him?" He is small, thus, also and humble, and an animal from the earth. Yet he made him to differ a little from the angels, for we are defeated, as is confessed, of the nature and glory of the holy angels. Not indeed with honor and glory did the God of all things deem worthy and show bright ones; for he has grasped him for a beginning upon the earth and has established him "over the works of his hands."
And the blessed David has indeed marveled appropriately at what is upon us. And the most wise Paul, being a very skilled craftsman in spiritual thoughts, indeed turns wittily toward an explanation of the mystery of the things said, but names the state of the age following this one, and the repetition according to the seasons of the things given to us, or rather their fulfillment. For we have pierced through, as I said, the grace in Adam. For it is indeed said regarding him, as the first in human nature, 'Increase and multiply and have dominion' over it (Gen 1:28); but now he does not say, 'we see all things subjected to him.'
Therefore, let us seek a different time of the matter, according to which it shall be, and the truth of that which is said to us, from being a lie of a God not knowing. He says thus that the inhabited world to come is to be subjected not rather by angels, but that this is to be given to those upon the earth. Since the mystagogues debate concerning the inhabited world coming to us, how could anyone be indifferent? For, turning away from the things having come, they seek to find the things coming, and they advise that one must hasten toward the prize of the higher calling, and they thirst for the hope of the saints, according to which all things will be subjected to them and they will have dominion over the earth.
And the Savior himself was remembering, saying, "Blessed are the gentle, for they themselves shall inherit the earth" (Matt 5:5). Who then is it that through whom the recapitulation of all things concerning us has become from God and the Father? It is evident that it is Christ, which also follows us to say, as through the lyre of the singer, "The Lord is a part of my inheritance and of my cup; you are the one restoring my inheritance to me" (Ps 16:5); for through him we have had the repetition of those good things granted in the beginning according to nature, and the certainty into possession. And it is unceasing to see this in no other way than having been written about it by the divine Paul: "The one a little being diminished by angels" we see Jesus through the passion of death "with glory and honor being crowned" (Heb 2:9).
You hear how above all things, the most supreme throne, which is worshiped with the Father by the spirits above in order of God, to whom thousands of thousands of angels serve, and also myriads of myriads stand by, the mystagogue brings down again among us and the manner of approaching the emptying he relates immediately, and whatever through it is made firm to the human nature as good things. Understand indeed being diminished a little…
Greek
ἀνθρωπότητος τὰ αὐτῷ καὶ μόνῳ πρέποντα τῷ ἑνωθέντι Λόγῳ· ἐπεὶ δέ ἐστιν εἷς καὶ μόνος καὶ ἀληθινὸς Υἱὸς ὁ Ἐμμανουὴλ, νοεῖται δὲ πρὸς ἡμῶν Θεός τε καὶ ἄνθρωπος. Πάντα ὑπέταξας τῶν ποδῶν αὐτοῦ. Ἄνιθι, φησὶ, ταῖς ἐννοίαις εἰς τὴν ἐν ἀρχαῖς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου κατασκευὴν καὶ τίνα γέγονε πρῶτον, πολυπραγμόνει δὲ πῶς πεποιήμεθα παρὰ Θεοῦ κατ' εἰκόνα καὶ ὁμοίωσιν αὐτοῦ, τετιμήμεθα δὲ πλουσίως, ἄρχειν λαχόντες τῶν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς. ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἡ τοῦ γένους ἀρχὴ, τουτέστιν Ἀδὰμ, τὴν θείαν λελύπηκεν ἐντολὴν, νενόσηκέ τε λοιπὸν ἡ ἀνθρώπου διάνοια τὸ λίαν εὐπάροιστον εἰς τὸ πλημμελὲς, ταύτῃτοι γυμνοὶ δόξης καὶ ἀφθαρσίας καὶ τῶν ἐν ἀρχαῖς ἀγαθῶν διετελοῦμεν ἐν κόσμῳ· σεσώσμεθα δὲ διὰ Χριστοῦ, καὶ τῇ παρ' αὐτοῦ χάριτι κεκτήμεθα τὰ πρὸς ἀνάληψιν τῶν πάλαι δεδωρημένων. τῶν τοιούτων διηγημάτων ὁ τῶν προκειμένων λόγος εἰσκομίζει τὸ πλάτος· κατατέθηπε γὰρ ὁ θεσπέσιος ∆αυεὶδ 383 τῆς ἐφ' ἡμῖν ἡμερότητος τὴν ὑπερβολήν· "Τί γάρ ἐστιν ἄν"θρωπος, φησὶν, ὅτι μιμνήσκῃ αὐτοῦ, ἢ υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου ὅτι "ἐπισκέπτῃ αὐτόν;" τὸ μικρὸν οὕτω καὶ εὐτελὲς καὶ ἀπὸ γὴς ζῷον. ἠλάττωσε γὰρ αὐτὸν βραχύ τι παρ' ἀγγέλους, ἡττήμεθα γὰρ ὡμολογουμένως τῆς τῶν ἁγίων ἀγγέλων φύσεώς τε καὶ δόξης. οὐκοῦν τιμῇ τε καὶ δόξῃ στεφανοῦν ἠξίωσε καὶ λαμπροὺς ἀπέδειξεν ὁ τῶν ὅλων Θεός· κεχειροτόνηκε γὰρ εἰς ἀρχὴν τῶν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς καὶ κατέστησεν "αὐτὸν ἐπὶ "τὰ ἔργα τῶν χειρῶν" αὐτοῦ. Καὶ τεθαύμακε μὲν εἰκότως τὰ ἐφ' ἡμῖν ὁ μακάριος ∆αυείδ· τεχνίτης δὲ λίαν ὑπάρχων εἰς ἐννοίας πνευματικὰς ὁ σοφώτατος Παῦλος, περιτρέπει μὲν ἀστεῖος εἰς ἐξήγησιν μυστικὴν τῶν εἰρημένων τὴν δύναμιν, οἰκουμένην δὲ μέλλουσαν ὀνομάζει τοῦ μετὰ τοῦτον αἰῶνος τὴν κατάστασιν, καὶ τὴν ἐσομένην κατὰ καιροὺς τῶν δοθέντων ἡμῖν ἐπανάληψιν ἤγουν ἐκπλήρωσιν. διαπεπτώκαμεν γὰρ, ὡς ἔφην, τῆς χάριτος ἐν Ἀδάμ· εἴρηται μὲν γὰρ ὡς ἐκείνῳ καὶ πρώτῳ τῇ ἀνθρώπου φύσει τό "Αὐξάνεσθε καὶ πληθύνεσθε καὶ κατακυριεύσατε "αὐτῆς·" νῦν δὲ οὔπω φησὶν ὁρῶμεν αὐτῷ τὰ πάντα ὑποτεταγμένα. οὐκοῦν τὸν τοῦ πράγματος καιρὸν ἕτερον ὄντα ζητήσωμεν καθ' ὃν ἔσται καὶ ἀληθὲς τὸ ἐφ' ἡμῖν εἰρημένον παρὰ τοῦ ψεύδεσθαι μὴ εἰδότος Θεοῦ. ταύτῃτοί φησι τὴν οἰκουμένην τὴν μέλλουσαν οὐκ ἀγγέλοις μᾶλλον ὑποτετάχθαι παρ' αὐτοῦ, δεδωρῆσθαι δὲ τοῦτο τοῖς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς. Ὅτι δὲ περὶ τῆς μελλούσης ἡμῖν οἰκουμένης οἱ μυσταγωγοὶ διαλέγονται, πῶς ἂν ἐνδοιάσειέ τις; ἀφιστάντες γὰρ τῶν ἐνεστηκότων, ζητεῖν ἀναπείθουσι τὰ ἐσόμενα καὶ "ἐπὶ "τὸ βραβεῖον τῆς ἄνω κλήσεως" ἐπείγεσθαι δεῖν συμβουλεύουσι καὶ τὴν τῶν ἁγίων ἐλπίδα διψῆν καθ' ἣν τὰ πάντα αὐτοῖς ὑποταχθήσεται καὶ κατακυριεύσουσι τῆς γῆς. καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ Σωτὴρ διεμέμνητο λέγων "Μακάριοι οἱ πραεῖς ὅτι "αὐτοὶ κληρονομήσουσι τὴν γῆν." τίς οὖν ἄρα ἐστὶν ὁ δι' 384 οὗ γέγονε παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Πατρὸς ἡ τῶν καθ' ἡμᾶς ἀνακεφαλαίωσις; δῆλον ὅτι Χριστὸς, ὃ καὶ ἡμᾶς ἀκόλουθον εἰπεῖν ὡς διὰ τῆς τοῦ ψάλλοντος λύρας "Κύριος μερὶς τῆς "κληρονομίας μου καὶ τοῦ ποτηρίου μου, σὺ εἶ ὁ ἀποκαθι"στῶν τὴν κληρονομίαν μου ἐμοί·" δι' αὐτοῦ γὰρ ἐσχήκαμεν τῶν ἐν ἀρχαῖς τῇ φύσει δεδωρημένων ἀγαθῶν τὴν ἐπανάληψιν αὐτὴν καὶ τὸ βέβαιον εἰς κτῆσιν. ἀταλαίπωρον δὲ καὶ τοῦτο ἰδεῖν οὐχ ἑτέρως ἔχον, γεγραφότος περὶ αὐτοῦ τοῦ θεσπεσίου Παύλου "Τὸν δὲ βραχύ τι παρ' ἀγγέλους ἠλατ"τώμενον βλέπομεν Ἰησοῦν διὰ τὸ πάθημα τοῦ θανάτου "δόξῃ καὶ τιμῇ ἐστεφανώμενον." Ἀκούεις ὅπως ἐπάνω πάντων ὑπέρτατον τὸν σύνθρονον τῷ Πατρὶ τὸν παρὰ τῶν ἄνω πνευμάτων ἐν τάξει Θεοῦ προσκυνούμενον, ᾧ χίλιαι μὲν χιλιάδες λειτουργοῦσιν ἀγγέλων, παρεστήκασι δὲ καὶ μύριαι μυριάδες, καταβιβάζει πάλιν ὁ μυσταγωγὸς ἐν τοῖς 10 καθ' ἡμᾶς καὶ τὸν τῆς κενώσεως ἀφηγεῖται τρόπον προσεπάγων εὐθὺς καὶ ὅσα κατώρθωται δι' αὐτῆς τῇ ἀνθρωπείᾳ φύσει ἀγαθά. ἐννόησον γὰρ ἠλαττώμενον βραχύ τι
About this text
Cyril of Alexandria, Fragmenta in epistulam ad Hebraeos (Greek).
Witnesses
- Copy-text PG 74 (Greek)
This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.