3

he might be able, but toward something else be unable; but the will of the Word, being able to do all things, has no inclination toward any evil; for the impulse toward wickedness is alien to the divine nature; but whatever is good, this He also wills, and willing it, He is also certainly able, and being able, He is not inactive, but brings every good intention into actuality. And the world is good, and all the things in it, when regarded wisely and skillfully. Are not then all things the works of the Word, who is living and subsistent, because He is the Word of God, and has will, because He lives; who is able to do whatever He may choose, and who chooses what is good and wise in every way, and whatever is of the better meaning. Since, therefore, the world is acknowledged to be something good, and it has been shown through what has been said that the world is the work of the Word, who both chooses and is able to do good, and this Word is other than Him of whom He is the Word; for in a certain way this is one of the things spoken of in relation, since it is absolutely necessary that with the Word, the Father of the Word is also understood; for there would not be a Word, if He were not the Word of someone; if, therefore, the mind of the hearers distinguishes, by the relational aspect of the meaning, both the Word Himself and Him from whom He is, the mystery would no longer be in danger for us of being classed with the Jewish tenets while fighting against the Greek suppositions; but it will equally escape the absurdity of both, confessing both the living Word of God, active and creative, which the Jew does not accept, and that the Word Himself and He from whom He is do not differ in nature. For just as in our case we say that the word is from the mind, being neither entirely the same as the mind, nor altogether different; for in being from it, it is something else and not it; but in bringing the mind itself to manifestation, it would no longer be supposed to be something other than it, but being one in nature, it is other in subject; so also the Word of God, in subsisting by Himself, is distinct from Him from whom He has His subsistence; but in showing in Himself these things which are seen in God, He is the same in nature with Him who is found through the same characteristics; for whether goodness, or power, or wisdom, or being eternally, or being unreceptive of evil and death and corruption, or being perfect in everything, or if one should make any such mark for the comprehension of the Father, through the same marks he will also find the Word who subsists from Him.

2

And just as we have known the Word by anagogical means from our own case, applying it to the transcendent nature, in the same way we will also be led to the concept of the Spirit, by observing in our own nature certain shadows and imitations of the ineffable power. But in our case, the spirit is the drawing in of air, an external thing necessarily drawn in and sent forth for the constitution of the body, which at the time of the utterance of the word becomes voice, manifesting in itself the power of the word. But in the case of the divine nature, it was considered pious for there to be a Spirit of God, just as it was granted for there to be a Word of God, because the Word of God ought not to be more deficient than our word, if, while this is observed with spirit, that one were believed to be without spirit. Yet it is not fitting for God to suppose that something foreign, in the likeness of our spirit, flows in from outside to God and becomes the Spirit in Him; but as, having heard of the Word of God, we did not think the Word to be some unsubstantial thing, nor something that comes into being by learning, nor something appearing by means of a voice, nor something that is dissolved after being brought forth, nor suffering anything else of this sort, such as are the affections observed concerning our word, but as subsisting essentially, with will and active and all-powerful; so also, having learned of the Spirit of God, who accompanies the Word and manifests His energy, we do not conceive of a breath of air; for indeed the majesty of the divine power would be brought down to lowliness, if in likeness to ours also what is in Him

3

δύναιτο, πρὸς δέ τι ἀδυνάτως ἔχοι· πάντα δὲ δυναμένην τὴν τοῦ λόγου προαίρεσιν πρὸς οὐδὲν τῶν κακῶν τὴν ῥοπὴν ἔχειν· ἀλλότρια γὰρ τῆς θείας φύσεως ἡ πρὸς κακίαν ὁρμή· ἀλλὰ πᾶν ὅ τι πέρ ἐστιν ἀγαθόν, τοῦτο καὶ βούλεσθαι, βουλομένην δὲ πάντως καὶ δύνασθαι, δυναμένην δὲ μὴ ἀνενέργητον εἶναι, ἀλλὰ πᾶσαν ἀγαθοῦ πρόθεσιν εἰς ἐνέργειαν ἄγειν. ἀγαθὸν δὲ ὁ κόσμος καὶ τὰ ἐν αὐτῷ πάντα σοφῶς τε καὶ τεχνικῶς θεωρούμενα. ἆρα τοῦ λόγου ἔργα τὰ πάντα τοῦ ζῶντος μὲν καὶ ὑφεστῶτος, ὅτι θεοῦ λόγος ἐστί, προαιρουμένου δέ, ὅτι ζῇ· δυναμένου δὲ πᾶν ὅ τι περ ἂν ἕληται, αἱρουμένου δὲ τὸ ἀγαθόν τε καὶ σοφὸν πάντως, καὶ εἴ τι τῆς κρείττονος σημασίας ἐστίν. ἐπεὶ οὖν ἀγαθόν τι ὁ κόσμος ὁμολογεῖται, ἀπεδείχθη δὲ διὰ τῶν εἰρημένων τοῦ λόγου ἔργον τὸν κόσμον εἶναι, τοῦ τὸ ἀγαθὸν καὶ αἱρουμένου καὶ δυνα μένου, ὁ δὲ λόγος οὗτος ἕτερός ἐστι παρὰ τὸν οὗ ἐστὶ λόγος· τρόπον γάρ τινα τῶν πρός τι λεγομένων καὶ τοῦτό ἐστιν, ἐπειδὴ χρὴ πάντως τῷ λόγῳ καὶ τὸν πατέρα τοῦ λόγου συνυπακούεσθαι· οὐ γὰρ ἂν εἴη λόγος, μή τινος ὢν λόγος· εἰ οὖν διακρίνει τῷ σχετικῷ τῆς σημασίας ἡ τῶν ἀκουόντων διάνοια αὐτόν τε τὸν λόγον καὶ τὸν ὅθεν ἐστίν, οὐκέτ' ἂν ἡμῖν κινδυνεύοι τὸ μυστήριον ταῖς Ἑλληνικαῖς μαχόμενον ὑπολήψεσι τοῖς τὰ τῶν Ἰουδαίων πρεσβεύουσι συνενεχθῆναι· ἀλλ' ἐπ' ἴσης ἑκατέρων τὴν ἀτοπίαν ἐκ φεύξεται, τόν τε ζῶντα τοῦ θεοῦ λόγον καὶ ἐνεργὸν καὶ ποιητικὸν ὁμολογῶν, ὅπερ ὁ Ἰουδαῖος οὐ δέχεται, καὶ τὸ μὴ διαφέρειν κατὰ τὴν φύσιν αὐτόν τε τὸν λόγον καὶ τὸν ὅθεν ἐστίν. ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐφ' ἡμῶν ἐκ τοῦ νοῦ φαμὲν εἶναι τὸν λόγον, οὔτε δι' ὅλου τὸν αὐτὸν ὄντα τῷ νῷ, οὔτε παντάπασιν ἕτερον· τῷ μὲν γὰρ ἐξ ἐκείνου εἶναι ἄλλο τι καὶ οὐκ ἐκεῖνό ἐστι· τῷ δὲ αὐτὸν τὸν νοῦν εἰς τὸ ἐμφανὲς ἄγειν οὐκέτ' ἂν ἕτερόν τι παρ' ἐκεῖνον ὑπονοοῖτο, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὴν φύσιν ἓν ὢν ἕτερον τῷ ὑποκειμένῳ ἐστίν· οὕτως καὶ ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ λόγος τῷ μὲν ὑφεστάναι καθ' ἑαυτὸν διῄρηται πρὸς ἐκεῖνον, παρ' οὗ τὴν ὑπόστασιν ἔχει· τῷ δὲ ταῦτα δεικνύειν ἐν ἑαυτῷ, ἃ περὶ τὸν θεὸν καθορᾶται, ὁ αὐτός ἐστι κατὰ τὴν φύσιν ἐκείνῳ τῷ διὰ τῶν αὐτῶν γνωρισμάτων εὑρισκομένῳ· εἴτε γὰρ ἀγαθότης, εἴτε δύναμις, εἴτε σοφία, εἴτε τὸ ἀιδίως εἶναι, εἴτε τὸ κακίας καὶ θανάτου καὶ φθορᾶς ἀνεπίδεκτον, εἴτε τὸ ἐν παντὶ τέλειον, εἴτε τι τοιοῦτον ὅλως σημεῖόν τις ποιοῖτο τῆς τοῦ πατρὸς κατα λήψεως, διὰ τῶν αὐτῶν εὑρήσει σημείων καὶ τὸν ἐξ ἐκείνου ὑφεστῶτα λόγον.

2 Ὥσπερ δὲ τὸν λόγον ἐκ τῶν καθ' ἡμᾶς ἀναγωγικῶς ἐπὶ τῆς ὑπερκειμένης ἔγνωμεν φύσεως, κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον καὶ τῇ περὶ τοῦ πνεύματος ἐννοίᾳ προσαχθησόμεθα, σκιάς τινας καὶ μιμήματα τῆς ἀφράστου δυνάμεως ἐν τῇ καθ' ἡμᾶς θεωροῦντες φύσει. ἀλλ' ἐφ' ἡμῶν μὲν τὸ πνεῦμα ἡ τοῦ ἀέρος ἐστὶν ὁλκή, ἀλλοτρίου πράγματος πρὸς τὴν τοῦ σώματος σύστασιν ἀναγκαίως εἰσελκομένου τε καὶ προ χεομένου, ὅπερ ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τῆς ἐκφωνήσεως τοῦ λόγου φωνὴ γίνεται, τὴν τοῦ λόγου δύναμιν ἐν ἑαυτῇ φανεροῦσα. ἐπὶ δὲ τῆς θείας φύσεως τὸ μὲν εἶναι πνεῦμα θεοῦ εὐσεβὲς ἐνομίσθη, καθὼς ἐδόθη καὶ λόγον εἶναι θεοῦ διὰ τὸ μὴ δεῖν ἐλλιπέστερον τοῦ ἡμετέρου λόγου τὸν τοῦ θεοῦ εἶναι λόγον, εἴπερ τούτου μετὰ πνεύματος θεωρουμένου ἐκεῖνος δίχα πνεύματος εἶναι πιστεύοιτο. οὐ μὴν ἀλλότριόν τι καθ' ὁμοιότητα τοῦ ἡμετέρου πνεύματος ἔξωθεν ἐπιρρεῖν τῷ θεῷ καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ γίνεσθαι τὸ πνεῦμα θεοπρεπές ἐστιν οἴεσθαι· ἀλλ' ὡς θεοῦ λόγον ἀκούσαντες οὐκ ἀνυπόστατόν τι πρᾶγμα τὸν λόγον ᾠήθημεν, οὐδὲ ἐκ μαθήσεως ἐγγι νόμενον, οὔτε διὰ φωνῆς προφαινόμενον, οὔτε μετὰ τὸ προενεχθῆναι διαλυόμενον, οὐδὲ ἄλλο τι πάσχοντα τοι οῦτον, οἷα περὶ τὸν ἡμέτερον λόγον θεωρεῖται πάθη, ἀλλ' οὐσιωδῶς ὑφεστῶτα, προαιρετικόν τε καὶ ἐνεργὸν καὶ παντοδύναμον· οὕτως καὶ πνεῦμα μεμαθηκότες θεοῦ, τὸ συμπαρομαρτοῦν τῷ λόγῳ καὶ φανεροῦν αὐτοῦ τὴν ἐνέρ γειαν, οὐ πνοὴν ἄσθματος ἐννοοῦμεν· ἦ γὰρ ἂν καθαιροῖτο πρὸς ταπεινότητα τὸ μεγαλεῖον τῆς θείας δυνάμεως, εἰ καθ' ὁμοιότητα τοῦ ἡμετέρου καὶ τὸ ἐν αὐτῷ