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of the very Truth, Christ, who, being pre-eternal God, for our sake also became a theologian, who, being truth itself, through love for mankind appeared to us as a herald of the truth, who for this reason came into the world, that He might bear witness to the truth, of whose true voice does everyone who is of the truth and seeks it in truth, hear?

Do you not then first oppose this one who was also the first of all to theologize thus (“For the Spirit of truth,” He says, “who proceeds from the Father”), then the disciples and apostles who had become eyewitnesses (p.76) and ear-witnesses of Him, or rather, before them, even the Holy Spirit Himself, who also came according to the promise given to them by the Savior, who also taught them all things, who did not teach this, that He proceeds not from the Father of lights alone, but also from the Son? For if He had taught them so, they would have taught us likewise.

Since it was for this reason that, having been taught and enlightened, they were sent forth, that they might teach as they were taught, that they might enlighten as they were enlightened, that they might preach with boldness, what they heard in the ear, that is, not in the hearing of all, that they might speak in the light, that is, openly to all, what was said to them in darkness, as I would say, through a revelation in the super-luminous darkness, or let it be parabolically, and like the dark saying with Solomon which is made clear to him who has partaken of wisdom. But if you wish, let "the darkness" mean in private and secretly and not yet known to the many.

But to the point of our present discussion, what was not said to those who spoke the truth with boldness, what the Spirit who announced all the truth did not announce, what He who made known to His beloved all that He heard from the Father did not testify or make known, and for this reason came, that He might bear witness to the truth, how do you dare to say this, introducing such a foreign addition into the definition of the faith, which the pre-eminent fathers, gathered together in common, moved by the Spirit, composed and handed down as a symbol of the true glory of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and a test of sincere knowledge of God and a sure confession for all who have chosen to rightly divide the word of truth?

For the pretext which you suppose, that there are some who say the Son is not equal to the Father, because He Himself (p.78) also does not have the power of procession, you, hastening to show them equal, introduced this addition, has no reason in it. For if some were to say that He must also have the power of begetting, since, if He did not possess this, His equality would be taken away, it would be necessary to add this too, being persuaded by the foolish; and simply not to say the Father is greater than the Son in causality, lest we should deny the Son's equality with Him.

Which thing you seem also to suggest deceitfully in opposition to the evangelical dogmas and teachings; for he who says the Son is also a cause of the Godhead denies the Son Himself who clearly said in the Gospel, “My Father is greater than I,” not only as man, but also as God, by reason of being the cause of the Godhead. Therefore He did not say "God," but "the Father"; for He is not greater than the Son as God, far from such impiety, but as the cause of the Godhead, just as the God-bearing fathers have interpreted for us. You therefore, as it seems, contradict these God-bearing fathers and Christ the God of the God-bearing, who say the Son is not equal to the Father according to causality.

But we know both the equality of the Son to the Father according to nature and we confess the greaterness of the Father according to causality, which both, the begetting and

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αὐτοαληθείας Χριστοῦ, ὅς Θεός ὤν προαιώνιος δι᾿ ἡμᾶς καί θεολόγος ἐγεγόνει, ὅς αὐτόχρημα ὤν ἀλήθεια διά φιλανθρωπίαν κῆρυξ ἡμῖν ἀναπέφηνε τῆς ἀληθείας, ὅς διά τοῦτο εἰς τόν κόσμον ἦλθεν, ἵνα μαρτυρήσῃ τῇ ἀληθείᾳ, οὗ καί πᾶς ὁ ὤν ἐκ τῆς ἀληθείας καί ταύτην ἐν ἀληθείᾳ ζητῶν, ἐπαΐει τῆς ἀληθινῆς φωνῆς;

Ἆρ᾿ οὖν οὐ πρώτῳ μέν τούτῳ ἀντιπίπτετε τῷ καί πρώτῳ πάντων οὕτω θεολογήσαντι («τό Πνεῦμα γάρ, φησί, τῆς ἀληθείας, ὅ παρά τοῦ Πατρός ἐκπορεύεται»), ἔπειτα τοῖς αὐτόπταις (σελ.76) καί αὐτηκόοις γεγενημένοις μαθηταῖς καί ἀποστόλοις αὐτοῦ, μᾶλλον δέ πρό τούτων καί αὐτῷ τῷ ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι, ὅ καί ἦλθε κατά τήν δεδομένην ὑπό τοῦ Σωτῆρος αὐτοῖς ἐπαγγελίαν, ὅ καί ἐδίδαξεν αὐτούς τά πάντα, ὅ τοῦτο οὐκ ἐδίδαξεν ὡς οὐκ ἐκ μόνου τοῦ Πατρός ἐκπορεύεται τῶν φώτων, ἀλλά καί ἐκ τοῦ Υἰοῦ; Εἰ γάρ οὕτω τούτους ἐδίδαξε, καί ἡμᾶς ἄν οὗτοι ὁμοίως ἐδίδαξαν.

Ἐπεί καί διά τοῦτο διδαχθέντες τε καί φωτισθέντες ἀπεστάλησαν, ἵνα διδάξωσιν ὡς ἐδιδάχθησαν, ἵνα φωτίσωσιν ὡς ἐφωτίσθησαν, ἵνα κηρύξωσιν ἐν παρρησίᾳ, ὅ εἰς τό οὖς ἀκούσειαν, τουτέστιν οὐκ ἐν ἐπηκόῳ πάντων, ἵν᾿ εἴπωσιν ἐν τῷ φωτί, δηλονότι φανερῶς τοῖς πᾶσιν, ἅ τούτοις εἴρηται ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ, ὡς ἔγωγ᾿ ἄν φαίην, δι᾿ ἀποκαλύψεως ἐν ὑπερφώτῳ γνόφῳ, ἔστω δέ καί παραβολικῶς, καί οἷος ὁ παρά τῷ Σολομῶντι σκοτεινός λόγος ὁ τῷ μετειληχότι τῆς σοφίας τρανούμενος. Εἰ δέ βούλει, τό κατά μόνας ἡ σκοτία δηλούτω καί ἀποκρύφως καί μήπω τοῖς πολλοῖς ἐγνωσμένως.

Ἀλλά πρός ὅ νῦν ἡμῖν ὁ λόγος, ὅ μή τούτοις εἴρηται τοῖς παρρησιασαμένοις τήν ἀλήθειαν, ὅ μή ἀνήγγειλε τό Πνεῦμα τό πᾶσαν ἀπαγγεῖλαν τήν ἀλήθειαν, ὅ μή ἐμαρτύρησεν ἤ ἐγνώρισεν ὁ πάντα ὅσα ἤκουσε παρά τοῦ Πατρός τοῖς ἀγαπητοῖς γνωρίσας, καί διά τοῦτο ἐλθών, ἵνα μαρτυρήσῃ τῇ ἀληθείᾳ, πῶς ὑμεῖς τοῦτο τολμᾶτε λέγειν οὕτως ἔκφυλον εἰσάγοντες προσθήκην ἐν τῷ τῆς πίστεως ὅρῳ, ὅν οἱ πρόκριτοι πατέρες κοινῇ συνειλεγμένοι πνευματοκινήτως, σύμβολον ἀψευδοῦς δόξης τῆς εἰς Πατέρα καί Υἱόν καί ἅγιον Πνεῦμα καί βάσανον εἰλικρινοῦς θεογνωσίας καί ὁμολογίαν ἀσφαλῆ πᾶσι τοῖς ὀρθοτομεῖν προῃρημένοις τόν λόγον τῆς ἀληθείας συνεγράψαντό τε καί παραδεδώκασιν;

Ἥν γάρ ὑπολογίζεσθε πρόφασιν, ὡς ἔστιν ὧν λεγόντων οὐκ ἴσον εἶναι τῷ Πατρί τόν Υἱόν, ὅτι μή καί αὐτός (σελ.78) ἔχει τό ἐκπορεύειν, ὑμεῖς ἴσον δεικνύναι σπεύδοντες τήν προσθήκην εἰσηνέγκατε ταύτην, οὐδαμόθεν ἔχει τό εὔλογον. Εἰ γάρ τινες φαῖεν χρῆν εἶναι καί τό γεννᾶν ἔχειν τοῦτον, ὡς μή τούτου προσόντος τό ἴσον ἀφαιρουμένου, ἀνάγκη προστιθέναι καί τοῦτο πειθομένους τοῖς ἀσυνέτοις˙ καί ἁπλῶς μή μείζω λέγειν τῷ αἰτίῳ τοῦ Υἱοῦ τόν Πατέρα, ἵνα μή τό πρός αὐτόν ἴσον τοῦ Υἱοῦ ἀθετήσωμεν.

Ὅπερ ἄρα δοκεῖτε καί ὑποβάλλειν δολίως πρός ἀντίθεσιν τῶν εὐαγγελικῶν δογμάτων καί διδαγμάτων˙ ὁ γάρ καί τόν Υἱόν αἴτιον θεότητος λέγων αὐτόν ἀθετεῖ τόν Υἱόν ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ σαφῶς εἰπόντα «ὁ πατήρ μου μείζων μού ἐστιν», οὐχ ὡς ἀνθρώπου μόνον, ἀλλά καί ὡς Θεοῦ, τῷ τῆς θεότητος αἰτίῳ. ∆ιό καί οὐχ ὁ Θεός εἶπεν, ἀλλ᾿ ὁ Πατήρ˙ οὐ γάρ ὡς Θεός μείζων τοῦ Υἱοῦ, ἄπαγε τῆς ἀσεβείας, ἀλλ᾿ ὡς αἴτος θεότητος, καθάπερ καί οἱ θεοφόροι πατέρες ἡμῖν ἡρμήνευσαν. Τούτοις οὖν ὡς ἔοικε τοῖς θεοφόροις καί Χριστῷ τῷ Θεῷ τῶν θεοφόρων ἀντιλέγετε, τῷ Πατρί τόν Υἱόν οὐκ ἴσον κατά τό αἴτιον λέγουσιν.

Ἀλλ᾿ ἡμεῖς καί τό ἴσον ἴσμεν τοῦ Υἱοῦ πρός τόν Πατέρα κατά τήν φύσιν καί τό μεῖζον τοῦ Πατρός ὁμολογοῦμεν κατά τό αἴτιον, ὅπερ ἄμφω, τό τε γεννᾶν καί