342 NOV ATI AN THE ROMAN PRESBYTER
and abundance of milk itself,and urges them that,being
detainedas guests,they would eat. And afterthishe hears
alsothat he should be a father,and learnsthat Sarah his
wifeshouldbringfortha son by him ; and acknowledgescon
cerning the destructionof the peopleof Sodom, what they
deserveto suffer; and learnsthat God had come down on
accountof the cry of Sodom. In which place,if they will
have it that the Father was seen at that time to have been
receivedwith hospitalityin company with two angels,the
hereticshave believedthe Father to be visible;but if an
angel,althoughof the threeangels one iscalledLord, why,
although itisnot usual,is an angelcalledGod ? unlessbe
cause,in order that His proper invisibilitymay be restored
to the Father,and the proper inferioritybe remitted to the
angel,itwas onlyGod the Son, who alsoisGod, who was seen
by Abraham, and was believedto have been received with
hospitality.For He anticipatedsacramentallywhat He was
hereafterto become. He was made a guestof Abraham,
being aboutto be among the sonsof Abraham. And hischil
dren'sfeet,by way of provingwhat He was,He washed ;re
turninginthechildrentheclaimofhospitalitywhich formerly
the Father had put out to interestto Him. Whence also,
thattheremight be no doubt but thatitwas He who was the
guestof Abraham on the destructionof the peopleof Sodom,
it is declared: "Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and
upon Gomorrha fireand brimstone from the Lord out of
heaven."1 For thus alsosaid the prophet in the person of
God : " I have overthrown you, as the Lord overturned
Sodom and Gomorrha."9 Therefore the Lord overturned
Sodom, that is,God overturned Sodom; but in the over
turning of Sodom, the Lord rained firefrom the Lord.
And thisLord was the God seen by Abraham; and this
God was the guest of Abraham, certainlyseen because He
was alsotouched. But althoughthe Father,being invisible,
was assuredlynot at that time seen,He who was accustomed
to be touched and seen was seen and receivedto hospitality.
But this the Son of God, "The Lord rained from the
1Gen.xix.24. 2Amos iv.11.