st. john of damascus (676-749 - Cristo Raul

"
106 ST. JOHN OF DAMASCUS.
holy mountain, towering on high no less by its glory
and splendour than by its cloud-capt loftiness. It
vies with heaven in the grace conferred upon it.
For while in heaven the very angels avail not to gaze
unwaveringly on Christ, here the chosen apostles see
Him shining forth in the glory of His kingdom.
On this mountain an assurance is given of the resur
rection of the dead ;
and Christ is shown to be Lord
both of the quick and dead, by bringing
forth as a
witness Moses from the dead, and Elias still alive,
him who of old sped away to the celestial regions in
his chariot of fire" He then
(c. iii.). goes on to
contrast Tabor and Sinai. When the law was given
on Sinai, there was cloud and storm and darkness,
all symbols of the impenetrable mystery in which the
Divine Giver of the law was shrouded. But now, on
Mount Tabor, all is full of light and radiance. For
the Son is come from the bosom of the Father to
reveal His glory. And His countenance shines as
the sun ; for it beams forth in hypostatic union with
1
immaterial light; and hence He is become the Sun
of righteousness. But His garments are white as
meant.
This passage may serve as a specimen of the way in which
1
the Greek text of Damascenus still needs revision. The read
ing here is 0wri yap av\(^ raurtfrai KaO vTroaratnv. In a
fragment of a Catena on St. Matthew, given later on in the
same volume of Migne s edition (col. 1408), it is 0wri yap a\X^>
TavTiZtrai Ka9 vTroaTCHTiv, No one, I suppose, would hesitate
to replace
a\X< in the latter passage by avXy from the former,
while for raim ^trai in both I have ventured to read avyatirai.
Even if ravrterai could have the meaning of "is made
identical with,"
that sense is not wanted ;
the following words
sufficiently explaining what kind of union is