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Each individual man, since he is composed of two natures, soul and
body, and since these natures are unchangeable in him, could
appropriately be spoken of as two natures: for he preserves even after
their union thee natural properties of either. For the body is not
immortal, but corruptible; neither is the soul mortal, but immortal:
and the body is not invisible pot the soul visible to bodily eyes: but
the soul is rational and intellectual, and incorporeal, while the body
is dense and visible, and irrational. But things that are opposed to
one another in essence have not one nature, and, therefore, soul and
body cannot have one essence.
And again: if man is a rational and mortal animal, and every
definition is explanatory of the underlying natures, and the rational
is not the same as the mortal according to the plan of nature, man then
certainly cannot have one nature, according to the rule of his own
definition.
But if man should at any time be said to have one nature, the word
"nature" is here used instead of "species," as when we say that man
does not differ from man in any difference of nature. But since all
men are fashioned in the same way, and are composed of soul and body,
and each has two distinct natures, they are all brought under one
definition. And this is not unreasonable, for the holy Athanasius
spake of all created things as having one nature forasmuch as they were
all produced, expressing himself thus in his Oration against those who
blasphemed the Holy Spirit: "That the Holy Spirit is above all
creation, and different from the nature of things produced and peculiar
to divinity, we may again perceive. For whatever is seen to be common
to many things, and not more in one and less in another, is called
essence. since, then, every man is composed of soul and body,
accordingly we speak of man as having one nature. But we cannot speak
of our Lord's subsistence as one nature: for each nature preserves,
even after the union, its natural properties, nor can we find a class
of Christs. For no other Christ was born both of divinity and of
humanity to be at once God and man."
And again: man's unity in species is not the same thing as the unity
of soul and body in essence. For man's unity in species makes clear
the absolute similarity between all men, while the unity of soul and
body in essence is an insult to their very existence, and reduces them
to nothingness: for either the one must change into the essence of the
other, or from different things something different must be produced,
and so both would be changed, or if they keep to their own proper
limits there must be two natures. For, as regards the nature of
essence the corporeal is not the same as the incorporeal. Therefore,
although holding that man has one nature, not because the essential
quality of his soul and that of his body are the same, but because the
individuals included under the species are exactly the same, it is not
necessary for us to maintain that Christ also has one nature, for in
this case there is no species embracing many subsistences.
Moreover, every compound is said to be composed of what immediately
composes it. For we do not say that a house is composed of earth and
water, but of bricks and timber. Otherwise, it would be necessary to
speak of man as composed of at least five things, viz., the four
elements and soul. And so also, in the case of our Lord Jesus
Christ we do not look at the parts of the parts, but at those
divisions of which He is immediately composed, viz., divinity and
humanity.
And further, if by saying that man has two natures we are obliged to
hold that Christ has three, you, too, by saying that man is composed
of two natures must hold that Christ is composed of three natures: and
it is just the same with the energies. For energy must correspond with
nature: and Gregory the Theologian bears witness that man is said to
have and has two natures, saying, "God and man are two natures,
since, indeed, soul and body also are two natures." And in his
discourse "Concerning Baptism" he says, "Since we consist of two
parts, soul and body. the visible and the invisible nature, the
purification is likewise twofold, that is, by water and Spirit."
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