that captivity which is greater, when the Devil with his own dominates with cruel power and subjects the captive necks of sinners to himself.

(9) So you have one baptism, another in the flood; you have a third kind, when the fathers were baptized in the Red Sea; you have a fourth kind in the pond, when the water was moved. Now I ask you whether you should believe that you have the presence of the Trinity at this baptism, with which Christ baptizes in the Church.

Chapter 4

(10) Thus the same Lord Jesus in His Gospel says to the Apostles: 'Go ye, baptize the nations in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."1 These are the words of the Saviour.

(11) Tell me, O man, Elias2 invoked fire from heaven, and fire went down; Eliseus3 invoked the name of the Lord, and from the water the head of the axe, which had been submerged, came up. Behold, another kind of baptism. Why? Because every man before baptism is pressed like the head of the axe and submerged; when he has been baptized, not as the head of an axe but as a lighter kind of productive wood, he is raised. Thus, here also is another figure. It was an axe with which pieces of wood were cut. The handle fell from the axe, that is, the head was submerged. The son of the Prophet did not know what he was doing, but this alone he knew, that he besought Eliseus the Prophet and asked for a remedy. Then Eliseus threw a piece of wood, and the head

1 Cf. Matt. 28.19.

2 Cf. 3 Kings 18.36-38.

of the axe was raised. So do you see that in the cross of Christ the infirmity of all men is raised?

(12) Another example—although we do not keep an order; for who can grasp all the accomplishments of Christ, as the Apostles have related?-When Moses had come into the desert and the people were thirsty and the people had come to the fountain of Mara and wished to drink, because, when he first took a swallow, he tasted a bitterness and began to be unable to drink, on this account Moses cast a stick into the fountain, and the water, which was bitter before, began to grow sweet.

(13) What does this signify except that every creature subject to corruption is water bitter for all? Although sweet for a time, a creature who cannot cast off sin is bitter. When you drink, you will thirst; when you take the sweetness of the drink, again you taste the bitterness. So the water is bitter, but when it has received the cross of Christ, when the heavenly sacrament, it begins to be sweet and pleasant, and worthily sweet, in which fault is withdrawn. So, if in a figure baptisms have such great power, how much more power does baptism have in reality?

Chapter 5

(14) Now, then, let us take thought. A priest comes; he says a prayer at the font; he invokes the name of the Father, the presence of the Son and of the Holy Spirit; he uses heavenly words. The words are heavenly, because they are Christ's, that we baptize 'in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."1 If, then, at the words of men, at the

4 Cf. Exod. 15.22-25.

invocation of a holy man, the Trinity was present, how much more is the Trinity present there where eternal words operate? Do you wish to know that the Spirit came down? You have heard that He came down as a dove. Why as a dove? That the unbelievers might be called to faith. In the beginning there ought to have been a sign; in later generations there ought to be perfection.

(15) Accept another example: After the death of our Lord Jesus Christ the Apostles were in one place and they were praying on the day of Pentecost, and suddenly there came a great sound, as of a mighty wind coming, and there appeared cloven tongues as it were of fire.2 What does this signify except the coming down of the Holy Spirit. He wished to show Himself to the unbelievers even corporeally, that is, corporeally by a sign, spiritually by a sacrament. So the testimony of His coming is manifest, but upon us the privilege of faith is now conferred, because in the beginning signs were made for the unbelievers;3 now in the fullness of the Church, not by a sign, but by faith must we gather the truth.

Chapter 6

(16) Now let us examine what it is that is called baptism! You came to the font; you went down into it; you gave heed to the highest priest; you saw the Levites (deacons) and the priest at the font. What is baptism?

(17) In the beginning our Lord God made man so that, if he had not tasted sin, he would not have died the death. He contracted sin; he was made subject to death; he was

2 Cf. Acts 2.1,3.

ejected from paradise. But the Lord, who wished his benefits to endure and to abolish all the snares of the serpent, also to abolish everything that caused harm, first, however, passed. sentence on man: 'Dust thou art and into dust thou shalt return,"1 and He made man subject to death. It was a divine sentence; it could not be resolved by a human condition. A remedy was given: that man should die and rise again. Why? That that also, which before had ceded to a place of damnation, might cede to a place of benefit. What is this except death? Do you ask how? Because death intervening makes an end to sin. For when we die, surely we have ceased to sin. The satisfaction of the sentence seemed to be that man, who had been made to live, if he had not sinned, began to die. But that the perpetual grace of God might persevere, man died, but Christ found resurrection, that is, to restore the heavenly benefit which had been lost by the deceit of the serpent. Both, then, are for our good, for death is the end of sins and resurrection is the reformation of nature.

2

(18) However, lest in this world the deceit and snares of the Devil might prevail, baptism was found. Hear what Scripture-rather, the Son of God-says about this baptism, that the Pharisees, who did not wish to be baptized by John's baptism, 'despised the council of God." Then baptism is the council of God. How great is grace, where there is the council of God!

(19) Listen then: For, that in this world, also, the grip of the Devil might be loosened, there was discovered how man alive might die and alive might rise again. What is ‘alive'? That is the living life of the body, when it came to the font, and dipped into the font. What is water but of earth? So it

1 Cf. Gen. 2.7.15-17; 3.6-24.

2 Cf. Heb. 9.15,16.

satisfies the heavenly sentence without the stupor of death. Because you dip, that sentence is resolved: "Thou art dust and into dust thou shalt return." When the sentence has been fulfilled, there is opportunity for heavenly benefit and remedy. So water is of earth, but the potentials of our life did not permit that we be covered with earth and rise again from earth. Then earth does not wash, but water washes. Therefore, the font is as a sepulture.

Chapter 7

(20) You were asked: 'Do you believe in God the Father almighty?" You said: 'I do believe,' and you dipped, that is: you were buried. Again you were asked: 'Do you believe in our Lord Jesus Christ and in His cross? You said: 'I do believe,' and you dipped. So you were also buried together with Christ.1 For who is buried with Christ rises again with Christ. A third time you were asked: 'Do you believe also in the Holy Spirit?' You said: 'I do believe,' you dipped a third time, so that the threefold confession absolved the multiple lapse of the higher life.

2

(21) Finally, to furnish you an example, the holy Apostle Peter, after he seemed to have lapsed by the weakness of his human condition, who had before denied, afterwards, that he might wipe out and resolve the lapse, is asked a third time if he loved Christ. Then he said: "Thou knowest that I love thee.' He said it a third time, that he might be absolved a third time.

(22) Thus, then, the Father dismisses sin; thus the Son

4 Gen. 3.19.

1 Cf. Rom. 6.4; Col. 2.12.

2 Cf. John 18.25-27; 21.15-18.