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.