from the principle of creation. For when he says “which was from the beginning” he is referring to the generation of the Son which has no beginning, because he exists coeternally with the Father. Therefore the word was signifies eternity, just as the Word himself, that is, the Son, which is one with the Father in equality of substance, is eternal and unmade. When he says that “our hands touched the Word of life,” he means not merely the Son’s flesh but his power as well. One tradition has it that