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of truth and a law of piety for Christians. For though there are many other names, by which the divine is signified in history and prophecy and law, the Lord Christ, leaving all of them aside, sets forth these words as better able to bring us to the faith concerning the one who is, declaring it sufficient for us to abide in the invocation of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit for the understanding of the 6 one who truly is, which is both one and not one. For in the account of its substance it is one, for which reason the Lord also legislated that we look to one name; but by the distinguishing properties of the hypostases it is divided into the faith of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, being divided without separation and united without confusion. For whenever we hear "Father," we receive this thought, that this name is not conceived of by itself alone, but also signifies the relation to the Son through its own meaning. For a Father could not be conceived of separately by himself, without the Son being joined with him through the utterance of "Father." Therefore, having learned "Father," by the same 7 word we were also taught the faith in the Son. Since, therefore, the divine by nature, which is what it is, is always the same, being never something that it now is not, nor ever will be something that it is not now, and the true Father was named Father by the Word, and with the Father the Son is also signified, we necessarily believe that he who admits no turning or change in his nature, what he is now, he also always was, or, if at some time he was not something, then he is certainly not that now. Since, therefore, he is named Father by the true Word, he surely always was Father and is and will be as he was. For it is not right to say of the divine and pure nature that what is good is not always 8 present to it. For if he were not always what he is now, he certainly changed either for the worse from the better or for the better from the worse; but the impiety of these is equal in either case, whichever one might be said of the divine nature. But indeed the divine is insusceptible of turning and of change. Therefore everything that is beautiful and good is always contemplated in the source of the beautiful; and beautiful and beyond all that is beautiful is the only-begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, being in the bosom, not coming to be in it.

9 Therefore it has been demonstrated by these things that the Son is contemplated from eternity in the Father in whom he is, being life and light and truth and every good name and concept, to say that the Father ever existed by himself without these things is of the utmost impiety and also madness. For if the Son, as the scripture says, is the power of God and wisdom and truth and light and sanctification and peace and life and such things, before the Son existed, as it seems to the heretics, these things surely did not exist either. And with these things not existing, they will conceive the paternal 10 bosom to be utterly empty of such goods. So that, therefore, the Father might never be conceived as destitute of his own goods, nor the doctrine fall into this absurdity, necessarily, according to the word of the Lord, the faith concerning the Son is contemplated together with the eternity of the Father. For this reason, leaving aside all the names that are spoken for the indication of the transcendent nature, he sets forth for us in the faith the invocation of the Father as more indicative of the truth, which, as has been said, by its relational meaning also indicates 11 the Son along with itself. And the Son, who is in the Father, being always what he is, as was said also in the preceding arguments, that the divine by its nature does not admit of increase toward the greater (for it does not see any other good outside itself, by participation in which it receives more) but being always the same, neither putting away what it has nor receiving what it does not have (for it has nothing that can be put away, and if anything blessed and pure and true and good exists, it is surely about it and in it), we necessarily see that the Spirit, the good and holy, which is upright, sovereign, life-giving, which embraces and sanctifies all of creation, which works all things in all as it wills, does not come to be in him by acquisition, so that there is nothing in between

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ἀληθείας καὶ νόμος εὐσεβείας τοῖς Χριστιανοῖς γίνεται. πολλῶν γὰρ ὄντων καὶ ἄλλων ὀνομάτων, οἷς τὸ θεῖον διασημαίνεται ἐν ἱστορίᾳ τε καὶ προφητείᾳ καὶ νόμῳ, πάντα καταλιπὼν ὁ δεσπότης Χριστὸς ὡς μᾶλλον ἡμᾶς προσάγεσθαι δυναμένας τῇ περὶ τοῦ ὄντος πίστει ταύτας τὰς φωνὰς παρατίθεται, ἀρκεῖν ἀποφηνάμενος παραμένειν ἡμᾶς τῇ τοῦ πατρός τε καὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ καὶ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος κλήσει εἰς κατανόησιν τοῦ 6 ὄντως ὄντος, ὅπερ καὶ ἕν ἐστι καὶ οὐχ ἕν. τῷ μὲν γὰρ λόγῳ τῆς οὐσίας ἕν ἐστι, διὸ καὶ εἰς ἓν ὄνομα βλέπειν ὁ δεσπότης ἐνομοθέτησε· τοῖς δὲ γνωριστικοῖς τῶν ὑποστά σεων ἰδιώμασιν εἰς πατρός τε καὶ υἱοῦ καὶ πνεύματος ἁγίου πίστιν διῄρηται, ἀδιαστάτως τε μεριζόμενον καὶ ἀσυγχύτως ἑνούμενον. ὅταν γὰρ ἀκούσωμεν πατέρα, ταύτην ἀναλαμ βάνομεν τὴν διάνοιαν, ὅτι τὸ ὄνομα τοῦτο οὐκ ἐφ' ἑαυτοῦ νοεῖται μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν πρὸς τὸν υἱὸν σχέσιν διὰ τῆς ἰδίας ἐμφάσεως ἀποσημαίνει. οὐ γὰρ ἂν πατὴρ κεχωρισ μένος ἐφ' ἑαυτοῦ νοηθείη, μὴ υἱοῦ συνημμένου διὰ τῆς τοῦ πατρὸς ἐκφωνήσεως. πατέρα οὖν μαθόντες τῇ αὐτῇ 7 φωνῇ καὶ τὴν εἰς τὸν υἱὸν πίστιν συνεδιδάχθημεν. ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν τὸ θεῖον τῇ φύσει, ὅπερ ἐστὶ καθὸ ἔστιν, ἀεὶ ὡσαύτως ἔχει, οὔτε ποτέ τι μὴ ὂν ὃ νῦν ἐστιν οὔτε ποτέ τι ἐσόμενον ὃ νῦν οὐκ ἔστιν, πατὴρ δὲ ὠνομάσθη παρὰ τοῦ λόγου ὁ ἀληθινὸς πατήρ, τῷ δὲ πατρὶ καὶ ὁ υἱὸς συνεμφαίνεται, ἀναγκαίως πιστεύομεν, ὅτι ὁ μηδεμίαν τροπὴν ἢ ἀλλοίωσιν ἐν τῇ φύσει παραδεχόμενος, ὃ νῦν ἐστι, καὶ ἀεὶ πάντως ἦν ἤ, εἴ ποτέ τι οὐκ ἦν, οὐδὲ νῦν πάντως ἐστίν. ἐπεὶ οὖν πατὴρ ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀληθινοῦ λόγου κατονομάζεται, πάντοτε πάντως καὶ ἦν πατὴρ καὶ ἐστὶ καὶ ἔσται ὡς ἦν. οὐ γὰρ δὴ θέμις ἐπὶ τῆς θείας τε καὶ ἀκηράτου φύσεως μὴ πάν 8 τοτε τὸ καλὸν περὶ αὐτὴν εἶναι λέγειν. εἰ γὰρ μὴ ἀεὶ ἦν ὃ νῦν ἐστιν, ἐτράπη πάντως ἢ πρὸς τὸ χεῖρον ἀπὸ τοῦ κρείττο νος ἢ πρὸς τὸ κρεῖττον ἀπὸ τοῦ χείρονος· τούτων δὲ ἴσον ἐστὶ τὸ ἀσεβὲς καθ' ἑκάτερον, ὁπότερον ἂν ἐπὶ τῆς θείας λέγηται φύσεως. ἀλλὰ μὴν ἀνεπίδεκτόν ἐστι τὸ θεῖον τροπῆς τε καὶ ἀλλοιώσεως. ἄρα πᾶν ὅτιπέρ ἐστι καλὸν καὶ ἀγαθόν, ἀεὶ περὶ τὴν τοῦ καλοῦ θεωρεῖται πηγήν· καλὸν δὲ καὶ καλοῦ παντὸς ἐπέκεινα ὁ μονογενής ἐστι θεὸς ὁ ὢν ἐν τοῖς κόλποις τοῦ πατρός, ὢν ἐν τοῖς κόλποις, οὐχὶ ἐγγενόμενος.

9 Οὐκοῦν ἀποδέδεικται διὰ τούτων τὸ ἐξ ἀϊδίου τὸν υἱὸν ἐνθεωρεῖσθαι τῷ πατρὶ τῷ ἐν ᾧ ἐστι, ζωὴν ὄντα καὶ φῶς καὶ ἀλήθειαν καὶ πᾶν ἀγαθὸν ὄνομά τε καὶ νόημα, ὧν χωρὶς ἐφ' ἑαυτοῦ λέγειν εἶναί ποτε τὸν πατέρα τῆς ἐσχάτης ἀσεβείας ἅμα καὶ παραπληξίας ἐστί. εἰ γὰρ ὁ υἱός, καθὼς ἡ γραφὴ λέγει, δύναμίς ἐστι θεοῦ καὶ σοφία καὶ ἀλήθεια καὶ φῶς καὶ ἁγιασμὸς καὶ εἰρήνη καὶ ζωὴ καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα, πρὸ τοῦ τὸν υἱὸν εἶναι, καθὼς τοῖς αἱρετικοῖς δοκεῖ, οὐδὲ ταῦτα ἦν πάντως. τούτων δὲ μὴ ὄντων κενὸν πάντως τῶν τοιούτων ἀγαθῶν τὸν πατρῷον ἐννοήσουσι 10 κόλπον. ὡς ἂν οὖν μήτε ὁ πατὴρ ἔρημός ποτε τῶν ἑαυτοῦ ἀγαθῶν ἐννοηθείη μηδὲ εἰς ταύτην τὴν ἀτοπίαν ἐκπέσοι τὸ δόγμα, ἀναγκαίως κατὰ τὴν φωνὴν τοῦ δεσπότου τῇ ἀϊδιότητι τοῦ πατρὸς ἡ περὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ πίστις συνθεωρεῖται. οὗ χάριν πάντα καταλιπὼν τὰ ὀνόματα, ὅσα πρὸς ἔνδειξιν τῆς ὑπερκειμένης φύσεως λέγεται, τὴν τοῦ πατρὸς κλῆσιν ὡς ἐνδεικτικωτέραν τῆς ἀληθείας ἐκτίθεται ἡμῖν ἐπὶ τῆς πίστεως, ἥτις καθὼς εἴρηται τῇ σχετικῇ διανοίᾳ καὶ τὸν 11 υἱὸν μεθ' ἑαυτῆς συνενδείκνυται. τοῦ δὲ υἱοῦ, ὅς ἐστιν ἐν τῷ πατρί, ἀεὶ ὄντος ὅπερ ἐστίν, καθὼς εἴρηται καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν λόγοις, ὅτι τὸ θεῖον τῇ φύσει τὴν πρὸς τὸ μεῖζον αὔξησιν οὐ προσδέχεται (οὐ γὰρ ὁρᾷ τι ἔξω ἑαυτοῦ ἀγαθὸν ἄλλο, οὗ κατὰ μετουσίαν προσλαμβάνει τὸ πλέον) ἀλλ' ἀεὶ ὡσαύτως ἔχοντος, οὔτε ἀποβάλλοντος ὃ ἔχει οὔτε προσλαμβάνοντος ὃ μὴ ἔχει (οὔτε γάρ τι τῶν ἀποβλήτων ἔχει, καὶ εἴ τι μακάριον καὶ ἀκήρατον καὶ ἀληθινὸν καὶ ἀγαθὸν περὶ αὐτὸν καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ πάντως ἐστίν, ἀναγκαίως ὁρῶμεν οὐκ ἐξ ἐπικτήσεως αὐτῷ προσγινόμενον τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἀγαθόν τε καὶ ἅγιον, ὅπερ ἐστὶν εὐθές, ἡγεμονικόν, ζωοποιόν, τὸ πάσης τῆς κτίσεως περικρατητικόν τε καὶ ἁγιαστικόν, ὃ πάντα ἐν πᾶσιν ἐνεργεῖ καθὼς βούλεται, ὡς μηδέν τι μεταξὺ