So very far have modern times gone in forgetfulness of the ancient faith, that, I believe, it is sometimes considered a strange thing to give to the Blessed Virgin the title of “the Mother of God,” as if it were a novelty so to designate her. Whereas, to deny her this title, and so in fact to make two Persons to be in Christ,—one, God, not born of her; and one, man, born of her,—is precisely the very and exact heresy of Nestorius condemned by the Third General Council held at Ephesus in the year 431, which decision was, and has ever since been, received by the whole Church. So that it is not merely truth so to designate her, but it is absolutely heretical to maintain the contrary. “Ever since the Council of Ephesus, the Church has consecrated the peculiar title of ‘Theotokos’ (God’s parent, or Mother of God,) to denote the incommunicable privilege of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in that she became the mother of Immanuel, ‘God with us.’ . . . For, though it is as man that Christ is of the substance of His Mother born in the world, yet, inasmuch as the Word took man’s nature in the womb of the Blessed Virgin of her substance, she may truly be styled ‘Mother of God,’ because ‘two whole and perfect natures—that is to say, the Godhead and Manhood—were joined in One Person never to be divided, whereof is one Christ, very God and very Man.’” {140} But let us turn back again for a moment to the thought of the text, that in Christ “are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” There is surely an emphatic force in the words “are hid,”—“_εἰσὶν ἀπόκρυφοι_,” not merely ‘contained,’ but ‘laid up,’ ‘concealed,’—and if in a certain sense, even now they are hid, because Christ our Lord does not manifest Himself to the eye of sense in any visible form of glory, though He has all wisdom and all knowledge ever inherent in Him, it may be said that they were even more obscured, when, emptying Himself of His glory, “He took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men, and was found in fashion as a man.” {141} Look upon Him as He was on this day eighteen hundred and three-score and more years ago! Think of Him as a little infant, in the arms of His blessed Mother, or laid under her watchful eye upon some rude pillow in the manger, and then consider that _there_ was the God of all flesh, the great God of heaven and earth, God the Son, ever one with the Father and the Holy Ghost, all-powerful, all-knowing, all-creating, all-upholding, all-preserving, and say if these treasures were not indeed hid and obscured!