Lactantius — Divine Institutes 4.13
When the highest God and Parent of all had willed to transfer his religion, he sent from heaven a teacher of justice, that in him or through him he might give a new law to new worshipers—not as he had done before through a human, yet he still willed him to be born as a human, that through all things he might stand like the highest Father. For God the Father himself, origin and beginning of things, since he has no parents, is most truly named by Trismegistus fatherless and motherless, because he was begotten of no one. For that reason the Son also had to be born twice, that he himself might become fatherless and motherless: in the first, spiritual nativity he was motherless, because without a mother’s office he was generated from God the Father alone; in the second, fleshly nativity he was fatherless, because without a father’s office he was brought forth from a virgin’s womb—so that, bearing a middle substance between God and human, he might be able to lead out this fragile and weak nature of ours as by the hand unto immortality. He was made Son of God through the Spirit and of a human through the flesh, that is both God and human. The power of God in him appeared from the works he did; the frailty of the human from the passion he endured—and why he took that up I will teach a little later.
Meanwhile we learn from the prophets’ oracles that he was both God and human, mixed from both kinds. Isaiah testifies he was God: “Egypt has grown weary… for in you is God, and there is no other god besides you. For you are God, and we did not know it, God of Israel the Savior.” Jeremiah: “This is our God, and another will not be reckoned besides him… After this he was seen on the earth and lived with humans.” David in the psalm: “Your throne, O God, is unto ages of ages… therefore God, your God, has anointed you”—which word also shows the name, since from anointing he is called Christ. And that the same one was human Jeremiah teaches: “And he is a human, and who has known him?” Isaiah: “And the Lord will send them a human who will save them.” Moses in Numbers: “A star will rise from Jacob and a human will arise from Israel.”
Therefore both David and the other prophets announced that Christ would be generated according to the flesh from this very house. In Isaiah: “And there will be in that day the root of Jesse… in him the nations will hope.” And Nathan to David: “I will raise up your seed after you… He will build me a house in my name, and I will raise his throne unto the age, and I will be to him for a father and he will be to me for a son.” The Jews referred this to Solomon, who built a hand-made temple; but Solomon’s rule was not perpetual, he was never called Son of God, and the house he built did not obtain faith as the church does—which is the true temple of God, not in walls but in the heart and faith of humans who believe in him and are called faithful. That Solomonic temple, because it was made by hand, fell by hand.
Latin
Summus igitur deus ac parens omnium cum religionem suam transferre uoluisset, doctorem iustitiae misit e caelo, ut nouis cultoribus nouam legem in eo uel per eum daret, non sicut ante fecerat per hominem, sed tamen nasci eum uoluit tamquam hominem, ut per omnia summo patri similis existeret. ipse enim pater deus, origo et principium rerum, quo-niam parentibus caret, ὰπάπωρ atque ὰμήτωρ a Trismegisto uerissime nominatur, quod ei nullo sit procreatus. idcirco etiam filium bis nasci oportuit, ut et ipse fieret ὰπάτωρ atque ὰμήτωρ. in prima enim natiuitate spiritali ὰμήτωρ fuit, quia sine officio matris a solo deo patre generatus est, in secunda uero carnali ὰπάτωρ fuit, quoniam sine patris officio uirginali utero procreatus est, ut mediam inter deum hominemque substantiam gerens nostram hanc fragilem inbecillamque naturam quasi manu ad inmortalitatem posset educere. factus est et dei filius per spiritum et hominis per carnem, id est et deus et homo. dei uirtus in eo ex operibus quae fecit apparuit, fragilitas hominis ex passione quam pertulit: quam cur susceperit paulo post docebo. interim et deum fuisse et hominem ex utroque genere permixtum prophetis uaticinantibus discimus. Esaias deum fuisse testatur his uerbis: fatigata est Aegyptus, et negotiatio Aethiopum et Sabain uiri alti ad te transgredientur et tui erunt serui et post te ambulabunt uincti conpedibus et adorabunt te et in te precabuntur: quoniam in te deus est, et non est deus alius praeter te. tu enim es deus, et nos nesciebamus, deus Israhel saluator. confundentur et reuerebuntur omnes qui aduersantur tibi, et cadent in confessionem. item propheta Hieremias sic ait: hic deus noster est et non deputabitur alius absque illo, qui inuenit omnem uiam prudentiae et dedit eam Iacob puero suo et Israhel dilecto sibi. post haec in terris uisus est et cum hominibus conuersatus est. item Dauid in psalmo XLEQI: thronus tuus, deus, in saecula saeculorum, uirga aequitatis uirga regni tui. dilexisti iustitiam, odio habuisti iniustitiam. propterea unxit te dominus deus tuus oleum exultationis. quo uerbo etiam nomen ostendit, siquidem, ut supra docui, ab unctione appellatus est Christus. deinde hominem fuisse eundem Hieremias docet dicens: et homo est et quis cognouit eum? item Esaias: et mittet eis dominus hominem, qui saluabit eos et iudicans sanabit eos. sed et Moyses in Numeris ita loquitur: orietur stella ex Iacob et exsurget homo ex Israhel. propterea Milesius Apollo consultus utrumne deus an homo fuerit, hoc modo respondit: θνητὸς ἔην κατὰ σάρκα σοϕὸς τερατώδεσιν ἕργοις, ἀλλ\' ύπὸ Χαλδαίοισι διϰασπολίαισιν ἀλώσας, γομϕωθεὶς σκολόπεσσι πιϰρὴν ἀνέπλησε τελευτήν. primo uersu uerum quidem dixit, sed argute consultorem fefellit sacramentum ueritatis penitus nescientem: uidetur enim negasse illum deum. sed cum fatetur secundum carnem fuisse mortalem, quod etiam nos praedicamus, consequens est ut secundum spiritum deus fuerit, quod nos adfirmamus. quid enim fuerat necesse carnis facere mentionem, cum satis esset dicere fuisse mortalem? sed ueritate pressus negare non potuit quemadmodum se res haberet, sicut illut, quod ait sapientem fuisse. quid ad hoc, o Apollo, respondes? si sapiens fuit, ergo doctrina eius sapientia est nec ulla alia, et sapientes qui secuntur nec ulli alii.
cur igitur uulgo pro stultis et uanis et ineptis habemur, qui sectamur magistrum etiam ipsorum deorum confessione sapientem? nam quod ait portentifica illum opera fecisse, quo maxime diuinitatis fidem meruit, adsentiri nobis iam uidetur, cum dicit eadem quibus nos gloriamur. sed colligit se tamen et ad daemoniacas fraudes redit. cum enim uerum necessitate dixisset, iam deorum ac sui proditor uidebatur, nisi quod ab eo ueritas expresserat, mendacio fallente (obs)curasset. ait ergo illum fecisse quidem opera miranda, uerum non diuina uirtute, sed magica. quid mirum, si hoc Apollo ueritatem ignorantibus persuasit, cum Iudaei quoque, cultores ut uidebantur summi dei, hoc idem putauerint, cum ante oculos eorum cottidie fierent illa miracula? nec tamen tantarum uirtutum contemplatione inpelli potuerunt ut deum crederent, quem uidebant. propterea Dauid, quem praeter ceteros prophetas uel maxime legunt, in psalmo XXVII sic eos damnat: redde illis retributionem eorum, quoniam non intellexerunt in operibus domini. ex huius ipsius domo Christum generatuiri secundum carnem et ipse Dauid et alii prophetae adnuntiauerunt. aput Esaiam ita scriptum est: et erit in illa die radix Iesse et qui exsurget principari in nationes: in eum gentes sperabunt et erit requies eius in honore. et alio loco: exiet uirga de radice Iesse et flos de radice ascendet: et requiescet super eum spiritus dei, spiritus sapientiae et intellectus, spiritus consilii et fortitudinis, spiritus scientiae et pietatis: inplebit illum spiritus timoris dei. Ie-ssp autem fuit pater Dauid, ex cuius radice ascensurum esse florem praelocutus est, eum scilicet, de quo Sibylla dicit ἀνθήσει δ\' ἄνθος καθαρόν. item in Basilion libro secundo propheta Nathan missus est ad Dauid uolentem deo templum fabricare. et fuit uerbum domini ad Nathan dicens: uade et dic seruo meo Dauid: haec dicit dominus deus omnipotens: non tu aedificabis mihi domum ad inhabitandum, sed cum inpleti fuerint dies tui et dormieris cum patribus tuis, suscitabo semen tuum post te et parabo regnum eius. hic aedificabit mihi domum in nomine meo et erigam thronum eius usque in saeculum, et ego ero ei in patre et ipse erit mihi in filio. et fidem consequetur domus eius, et regnum eius usque in saeculum. sed haec ut Iudaei non intellegerent, illa fuit causa, quod Solomon filius Dauid templum deo aedificauit et ciuitatem, quam de suo nomine Hierosolymam nuncupauit. itaque ad ipsum quae a propheta dicta sunt rettulerunt. Solomon autem ab ipso patre suo imperii regimen accepit. prophetae uero de eo loquebantur qui tum nasceretur, postquam Dauid cum patribus suis requieuisset. praeterea Solomonis imperium perpetuum non fuit: annis enim quadraginta regnauit. deinde, quod numquam filius dei dictus est, sed filius Dauid, et domus quam aedificauit non est fidem consecuta sicut ecclesia, quae est uerum templum dei, quod non in parietibus est, sed in corde ac fide hominum qui credunt in eum ac uocantur fideles: illut uero Solomonium templum quia manu factum est, manu cecidit. denique pater eius in psalmo CXXVI de operibus filii sui prophetauit hoc modo: si dominus non aedificauerit domum, in uanum laborauerunt qui illam aedificauerunt: si dominus non custodierit ciuitatem, in uacuum uigilauit qui eam custodiuit.