discorse: Athanasius On the incarnation
Posted: May 6th, 2018, 3:20 pm
I'm currently reading very slowly through Athanasius On the incarnation. The paragraph quoted below presents a modest level of challenge for anyone studying discourse analysis. I got started on it and thought it would be more fun to have others take a look at it.
Athanasius on the incarnation
1.3 Εἰς δὲ τὴν περὶ τούτων διήγησιν,
χρεία τῆς τῶν προειρημένων μνήμης· ἵνα καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν
τῆς ἐν σώματι φανερώσεως τοῦ τοσούτου καὶ τηλικούτου
πατρικοῦ Λόγου γνῶναι δυνηθῇς, καὶ μὴ νομίσῃς ὅτι
φύσεως ἀκολουθίᾳ σῶμα πεφόρεκεν ὁ Σωτήρ· ἀλλ' ὅτι
ἀσώματος ὢν τῇ φύσει, καὶ Λόγος ὑπάρχων, ὅμως κατὰ
φιλανθρωπίαν καὶ ἀγαθότητα τοῦ ἑαυτοῦ Πατρός, διὰ
τὴν ἡμῶν σωτηρίαν, ἐν ἀνθρωπίνῳ σώματι ἡμῖν πεφανέρωται.
Now in dealing with these matters it is necessary
first to recall what has already been said. You must
understand why it is that the Word of the Father,
so great and so high, has been made manifest in
bodily form. He has not assumed a body as proper
to His own nature, far from it, for as the Word He is
without body. He has been manifested in a human
body for this reason only, out of the love and
goodness of His Father, for the salvation of us
men.
Archibald Robertson 1891