But that which is truly a sign, and which was to be
made trustworthy to
mankind,--namely, that the first-begotten of all creation
should become
incarnate by the
Virgin's womb, and be a child,--this
he anticipated by
the Spirit of prophecy, and predicted it, as I have
repeated to you, in
various ways; in order that, when the event should take
place, it might
be known as the operation of the power and will of the
Maker of all things;
just as Eve was made from one of Adam's ribs, and as
all living beings
were created in the beginning by the word of God. But
you in these matters
venture to pervert the expositions which your elders
that were with Ptolemy
king of Egypt gave forth, since you assert that the
Scripture is not so as
they have expounded it, but says, 'Behold, the young
woman shall
conceive,' as if great events were to be inferred if a
woman should beget
from sexual intercourse: which indeed all young women,
with the exception
of the barren, do; but even these, God, if He wills, is able
to cause [to
bear].