16, 17. The Pharisees themselves disagree as to the character of Christ, and ask the man who had been cured (note how he is still spoken of as blind, just as in the Blessed Eucharist (vi. 52) the flesh of Christ is spoken of as bread, not because it is any longer bread, but because of what it is known to have been shortly before) what he thought of Him who cured him. His reply is that Christ is a prophet (προφητής without the article), a man sent by God; not _the_ Prophet, for he did not yet recognise Christ as the Messias. 18. Non crediderunt ergo 18. The Jews then did not Iudaei de illo quia caecus believe concerning him, that fuisset et vidisset, donec he had been blind and had vocaverunt parentes eius qui received his sight, until they viderat: call the parents of him that had received his sight. 18. The Pharisees now doubt the _fact_ of the cure, and send for the man’s parents to inquire if he had indeed been born blind. 19. Et interrogaverunt eos, 19. And asked them, saying: Is dicentes: Hic est filius this your son, who you say was vester, quem vos dicitis quia born blind? How then doth he caecus natus est? Quomodo ergo now see? nunc videt? 20. Responderunt eis parentes 20. His parents answered them eius, et dixerunt: Scimus quia and said: We know that this is hic est filius noster, et quia our son, and that he was born caecus natus est: blind. 21. Quomodo autem nunc videat, 21. But how he now seeth, we nescimus: aut quis eius know not: or who hath opened aperuit oculos, nos nescimus: his eyes, we know not: ask ipsum interrogate: aetatem himself; he is of age, let him habet, ipse de se loquatur. speak for himself. 19‐21. Three questions are put to the parents; to two they reply: that this is their son, and that he was born blind; but to the third they return no answer, though, doubtless, they believed their son’s account of the cure. 22. Haec dixerunt parentes 22. These things his parents eius, quoniam timebant said, because they feared the Iudaeos: iam enim Jews: For the Jews had already conspiraverant Iudaei, ut si agreed among themselves, that quis eum confiteretur esse if any man should confess him Christum, extra synagogam to be Christ, he should be put fieret. out of the synagogue. 22. *Put out of the synagogue*; that is to say, deprived of all religious intercourse by a sort of excommunication.