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the appointment of Nave, lest they should suppose him to be the likely prophet; but after his laying on of hands, he then declared this to the people. So much for these things. But since there are countless passages both foretelling the things concerning Christ and declaring concerning the Holy Trinity, we shall omit most of them, and especially those which these men maliciously attempt to misinterpret, so that we may not give an opening and occasion for their wicked objections; For all the house of Israel are contentious and hardhearted, says Ezekiel; but we will bring forward a few that are clear and indisputable, and which will convict them of being either completely wilfully deaf, or of acting foolishly.

{1From the Book of Genesis.} 1 And God said, Let us make man in our image, and after

our likeness. The Father, clearly, to those from his own substance who share with him the creative and sovereign dignity. For the idiom of the Hebrew dialect has no place here, which sometimes uses the singular as a plural. For otherwise, misusing such an idiom where it is not right, we would fill those who contradict us with great confusion. {1From the same.}1 And God said, Behold, Adam has become as one of us, that is, as each of us persons in the one Godhead. For even if it is said ironically, it cannot at all signify a single person. {1From the same.}1 And God said, Come, let us go down and confuse their tongues. For the one saying "come" speaks to at least two, and from this a Trinity is composed. And to equals in power and of the same substance you would say "come, let us do this," and not to angels, which is absurd. Or whatever sort and however many you may say, we will reject for being unattested. How does God speak? In our manner? It is more pious to say that the divine will, and the first impulse of the intellectual movement, this is the Word of God. But Scripture forms it discursively, to show that he not only willed creation to come into being, but that it was brought into being through a certain co-worker. For he could have, as he said from the beginning, gone through all things. In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth. Then he made the light, then he made the firmament. But now by introducing God as if commanding and conversing, it reveals by its silence the one with whom he converses, not begrudging us the knowledge, but kindling us toward the desire, through which it suggests certain traces and appearances of the mystery. For what is acquired with labor is received with great joy, and diligently guarded. But of those things whose acquisition is easy, the possession is easily despised. For this reason it leads us by a certain way and order into the concept of the Only-Begotten, although there was no need of the spoken word for the incorporeal nature, since the very things thought could be communicated to the co-worker. So what need is there of speech for those who are able to communicate their counsels to one another from thought itself? For voice is for hearing, and hearing for the sake of voice. But where there is no air, no tongue, nor ear, no winding passage carrying the sounds up to the perception in the head, there is no need of words, but, as one might say, the communication of the will is from the thoughts in the heart themselves. Therefore, as I said, this form of speech has been adopted so as to rouse our mind to the investigation of the person to whom the words are wisely and skillfully addressed. {1From the same.}1 And God appeared to Abraham by the oak of Mamre, as he was sitting at the door of his tent at midday. And he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men stood before him. And when he saw them, he ran to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground, and said, Lord, if now I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. And he said to him, Where is Sarah your

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Ναυῆ προχείρισιν, ἵνα μὴ τοῦτον εἶναι τὸν εἰκότα προφήτην ὑπολαμβάνωσι· μετὰ μέντοι τὴν αὐτοῦ χειροθεσίαν τότε τοῦτο κατε μήνυσε τῷ λαῷ. Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον. Μυρίων δὲ χρήσεων οὐσῶν τῶν τε προκαταγγελουσῶν τὰ περὶ Χριστοῦ, καὶ τῶν ἀπαγγελουσῶν περὶ τῆς ἁγίας Τριάδος, τὰ πολλὰ μὲν ἐάσομεν, καὶ μᾶλλον ὅσα παρερμηνεύειν οὗτοι κακοήθως ἐπιχειροῦσιν, ἵνα μὴ δῶμεν θύραν καὶ διατριβὴν ταῖς πονηραῖς ἀντιῤ ῥήσεσιν· Πᾶς γὰρ οἶκος Ἰσραὴλ φιλόνεικοί εἰσι, καὶ σκληροκάρδιοι, φησὶν Ἰεζεκιήλ· Ὀλίγα δὲ προ-χειρισόμεθα σαφῆ τε καὶ ἀναντίῤῥητα, καὶ ὅσα τούτους ἢ πάντως ἐθελοκωφοῦντας, ἢ ἀνοηταίνοντας ἀπελέγξουσι.

{1Βίβλου Γενέσεως.} 1 Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ Θεὸς, Ποιήσωμεν ἄνθρωπον κατ' εἰ κόνα ἡμετέραν, καὶ καθ'

ὁμοίωσιν. Ὁ Πατὴρ δηλο νότι πρὸς τοὺς ἐκ τῆς οὐσίας αὐτοῦ τοὺς κοινωνοῦντας αὐτῷ τοῦ δημιουργικοῦ καὶ δεσποτικοῦ ἀξιώματος. Οὐκ ἔχει γὰρ ἐνταῦθα χώραν τὸ τῆς Ἑβραΐδος δια 130.261 λέκτου ἰδίωμα, τὸ χρώμενον ἔστιν ὅτε τοῖς ἑνικοῖς πληθυντικῶς. Ἢ γὰρ ἂν, καὶ ἐφ' ἃ μὴ χρὴ τῷ τοιούτῳ ἰδιώματι καταχρώμενοι, πολλῆς ἐμπλήσομεν τοὺς ἀντιλέγοντας ταραχῆς. {1Ἐκ τῆς αὐτῆς.}1 Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ Θεὸς, Ἰδοὺ Ἀδὰμ γέγονεν ὡς εἷς ἐξ ἡμῶν, ἤγουν ὡς ἕκαστος ἡμῶν τῶν ἐν τῇ μιᾷ θεότητι προσώπων. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ εἰρωνικῶς εἴρηται, ἀλλ' οὖν ἑνὸς προσώπου σημαντικὸν ὅλως εἶναι οὐ δύναται. {1Ἐκ τῆς αὐτῆς.}1 Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ Θεὸς, ∆εῦτε καὶ καταβάντες συγχέω μεν αὐτῶν τὰς γλώσσας. Τὸ γὰρ δεῦτε πρὸς δύο τοὐ λάχιστον ὁ λέγων λέγει, καὶ Τριὰς ἐντεῦθεν συναπαρ τίζεται. Πρὸς ἰσοδυνάμους δὲ, καὶ ὁμοουσίους τὸ δεῦτε, ποιήσωμεν τόδε, καὶ οὐ πρὸς ἀγγέλους ἐρεῖς, ὅπερ ἐστὶν ἄτοπον. Ἢ οἵους ἂν, καὶ ὅσους ἐρεῖς, παραγραψόμεθα διὰ τὸ ἀμάρτυρον. Πῶς Θεὸς διαλέγεται; Ἆρα τὸν ἡμέτερον τρόπον; εὐσεβέστερον λέγειν, ὅτι τὸ θεῖον βούλημα, καὶ ἡ πρώτη ὁρμὴ τοῦ νοεροῦ κινήματος, τοῦτο Λόγος ἐστὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ. Σχηματίζει δὲ αὐτὸν διεξοδικῶς ἡ Γραφὴ, ἵνα δείξῃ, ὅτι οὐχὶ γενέσθαι μόνον ἐβουλήθη τὴν κτίσιν, ἀλλὰ διά τινος συνεργοῦ παραχθῆναι ταύτην εἰς γένεσιν. Ἠδύνατο γὰρ, ὡς ἐξ ἀρχῆς εἶπε, περὶ πάντων ἐπεξελθεῖν. Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἐποίησεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν, καὶ τὴν γῆν. Εἶτα ἐποίησε τὸ φῶς, εἶτα ἐποίησε τὸ στερέωμα. Νῦν δὲ τὸν Θεὸν οἱονεὶ προστάσσοντα καὶ διαλεγόμενον εἰσάγουσα, τὸν ᾧ διαλέγεται κατὰ τὸ σιωπώμενον ὑποφαίνει, οὐ βασκαίνουσα ἡμῖν τῆς γνώσεως, ἀλλ' ἐκκαίουσα ἡμᾶς πρὸς τὸν πόθον, δι' ὧν ἴχνη τινὰ καὶ ἐμφάσεις ὑποβάλλει τοῦ ἀποῤῥήτου. Τὸ γὰρ πόνῳ κτηθὲν περιχαρῶς ὑπεδέχθη, καὶ φιλοπόνως διεφυλάχθη. Ὦν μέντοι πρόχειρος ὁ πορισμὸς, τούτων ἡ κτίσις εὐκαταφρόνητος. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ὁδῷ τινι καὶ τάξει ἡμᾶς εἰς τὴν περὶ τοῦ Μονογενοῦς ἔννοιαν ἐμβιβάζει, καίτοι γε τοῦ ἐν φωνῇ λόγου οὐδὲ οὕτως ἦν χρεία τῇ ἀσωμάτῳ φύσει, αὐτῶν τῶν νοηθέντων μεταδί δοσθαι δυναμένων τῷ συνεργοῦντι. Ὥστε τίς χρεία λόγου τοῖς δυναμένοις ἐξ αὐτοῦ τοῦ νοήματος κοι νωνεῖν ἀλλήλοις τῶν βουλευμάτων; φωνὴ μὲν γὰρ ἀκοὴν, καὶ ἀκοὴ φωνῆς ἕνεκεν. Ὅπου δὲ οὐκ ἀὴρ, οὐχὶ γλῶσσα, οὐδὲ οὖς, οὐ πόρος σκολιὸς, ἐπὶ τὴν ἐν τῇ κεφαλῇ συναίσθησιν ἀναφέρων τοὺς ψόφους, ἐκεῖ οὐδὲ ῥημάτων χρεία, ἀλλ' ἐξ αὐτῶν, ὡς ἂν εἴποι τις, τῶν ἐν καρδίᾳ νοημάτων τοῦ θελήματος ἡ μετά δοσις. Ὅπερ οὖν ἔφην, ὥστε διαναστῆναι τὸν νοῦν ἡμῶν πρὸς τὴν ἔρευναν τοῦ προσώπου, πρὸς ὃν οἱ λόγοι σοφῶς καὶ ἐντέχνως, τοῦτο τῆς διαλέκτου παρείληπται. {1Ἐκ τῆς αὐτῆς.}1 Ὤφθη δὲ τῷ Ἀβραὰμ ὁ Θεὸς πρὸς τῇ δρυῒ τῇ Μαμβρῇ, καθημένου αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τῆς θύρας τῆς σκη νῆς αὐτοῦ μεσημβρίας. Ἀναβλέψας δὲ τοῖς ὀφθαλ 130.264 μοῖς αὐτοῦ εἶδε, καὶ ἰδοὺ τρεῖς εἱστήκεισαν ἐπάνω αὐτοῦ. Καὶ ἰδὼν, προσέδραμεν εἰς συνάντησιν αὐ τοῖς, καὶ προσεκύνησεν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν, καὶ εἶπε, Κύριε, εἰ ἄρα εὗρον χάριν ἐναντίον σου, μὴ πα ρέλθῃς τὸν παῖδά σου. Εἶπε δὲ πρὸς αὐτὸν, Ποῦ Σάῤῥα ἡ