3

you may understand, for the discourse is not now about such things, but about God, who is neither the beginning of numbers and is uncompounded, but also united beyond the single essences.

Unifying: Hence, after transcending all things that exist concerning God, then following the measure of our language (for it is not possible for us to go beyond it), he glorifies God from those very things from which he removed Him; and he says a unity, but a unifier of unities, that is, a creator of simple essences, such as angels and souls; and a mind without thought, instead of one not thought by any mind; for if like is known by like, it would be necessary, then, if he were a mind, to be thought by minds. But who has known the mind of the Lord? Therefore, he is a mind beyond mind, and a name that is above every name; and "for my name," he says, "I did not tell them"; wherefore he is also nameless to all. But he is not even a being; for if he himself creates beings out of non-beings, he is not, then, of beings, but beyond beings. But if he says, "I am who am," understand worthily that he is without beginning and without end, but also unsearchable.

§ 2. What knowledge is: For only God Himself knows the things concerning Himself, knowing Himself with knowledge and properly as He is, being unknowable to all others in His essence, what He is and according to what He is. "For no one knows the Father, except 14S_022 the Son, and the Son, except the Father"; for the Father, knowing His own adorable image, that is, the Son, also knows Himself. The same is true also concerning the Holy Spirit; "for no one knows the things of God, except the Spirit who is from God." Therefore, all that this blessed man contemplates concerning God, he understands concerning the revered Trinity.

Infinity: That which is finite is also naturally comprehensible by that by which it has been limited; but if God is the place of all things, not bodily, but creatively (for He Himself fills the heaven and the earth and all things and is outside of these), it is clear that He is infinity, that is, a power having no limit.

Not, however, unshared: That is, all things partake of His fellowship and saving providence.

The supra-essential: How sometimes he calls the Divine essence, and sometimes supra-essential, just as mind without thought, and a name that is above every name, so also essence supra-essential.

Applying: For to those things of which God has given us apprehension, it is fitting to apply our mind to these, and to seek nothing beyond our weakness; for instance, that he is good, that he is creator, that he is loving toward mankind, and so on, but, what is the essence of God, do not be over-curious.

Being impotently self-willed: Well is it said "impotently"; for even if one should attempt it, one does not attain it, but only, having the mental vision obscured, falls away from the existing light, like one who stubbornly desires to receive the whole sun with the bodily eye, which the divine and intelligible powers intimate, cherubim and seraphim 14S_024 cover their faces, indicating that one should not contend with the contemplation beyond them that has not been given to them. And this is what is meant by "No one has ever seen God." Wherefore, the wise in God say they have seen the glory of God, but not God.

§ 3. That which is beyond mind: Clearly from these things it is possible to grasp the madness of Arius and Eunomius, who dared to reduce to a system the ineffable and supra-essential essence of the Only-begotten. [For beyond mind is the incomprehensibility of the Thearchy, that is, of the all-royal and unnameable essence].

Of the Thearchy: He everywhere calls the all-royal Trinity Thearchy because it rules even over those called gods, I mean angels and saints, as we have said before. And hidden is the incomprehensibility concerning that unnameable essence, which a little later he says with a prudent silence and above, as is lawful for him, and in a manner befitting sacred things.

3

νοήσῃς, οὐ γάρ περί τοιούτων ὁ λόγος νῦν, ἀλλά περί Θεοῦ, τοῦ μήτε ἀρχῆς ἀριθμῶν ὄντος καί ἀσυνθέτου, ἀλλά καί ὑπέρ τά μονοούσια ἡνωμένου.

Ἑνοποιός: Ἐντεῦθεν μετά τό ἐξελθεῖν πάντων τῶν ἐν τοῖς οὖσι τά περί Θεοῦ, λοιπόν τῷ μέτρῳ τῆς ἡμετέρας γλώσσης ἀκολουθῶν (οὐ γάρ ὑπερβῆναι ταύτην δυνατόν ἡμῖν), ἐξ αὐτῶν δοξάζει τόν Θεόν, ἐξ ὧν αὐτόν ἐξεῖλε· καί ἑνάδα φησίν, ἀλλ' ἑνοποιόν τῶν ἑνάδων, τουτέστι, δημιουργόν τῶν ἁπλῶν οὐσιῶν, οἷον ἀγγέλων καί ψυχῶν· καί νοῦν ἀνόητον ἀντί τοῦ μή νοούμενον ὑπό τινος νοῦ· εἰ γάρ τό ὅμοιον ὑπό τοῦ ὁμοίου γινώσκεται, ἐχρῆν οὖν, εἰ νοῦς ἦν, ὑπό τῶν νοῶν νοεῖσθαι. Ἀλλά τίς ἔγνω νοῦν Κυρίου; Οὐκοῦν νοῦς ἐστιν ὑπέρ νοῦν, καί ὄνομά ἐστι τό ὑπέρ πᾶν ὄνομα· καί «τό ὄνομα γάρ μου», φησίν, «οὐκ εἶπον αὐτοῖς»· διό καί ἀνώνυμος πᾶσιν. Ἀλλά καί οὐδέ ὤν ἐστιν· εἰ γάρ αὐτός τά ὄντα ἐκ τῶν μή ὄντων δημιουργεῖ, οὐκ ἄρα τῶν ὄντων ἐστιν, ἀλλ' ὑπέρ τά ὄντα. Ἐάν δέ λέγη, «Ἐγώ εἰμί ὁ ὤν", ἀξίως νόει ἄναρχον καί ἀτελεύτητον, ἀλλά καί ἀνεξερεύνητον.

§ 2. Ὅ,τί ποτέ ἐστιν ἐπιστήμη: Μόνος γάρ ὁ Θεός αὐτός τά περί ἑαυτοῦ ἐπίσταται, ἐπιστητῶς καί κυρίως εἰδώς ἑαυτόν ὡς ἔστι, τοῖς δέ ἑξῆς ἅπασιν ἀνεπίγνωστος ὤν κατ' αὐτό, τό τί ἐστι καί καθ' ὅ ἐστιν. «Οὐδείς γάρ γιγνώσκει τόν Πατέρα, εἰ μή 14S_022 ὁ Υἱός, καί τόν Υἱόν, εἰ μή ὁ Πατήρ»· γιγνώσκων γάρ ὁ Πατήρ τήν ἑαυτοῦ προσκυνητήν εἰκόνα, τουτέστι τόν Υἱόν, γιγνώσκει καί ἑαυτόν. Τό αὐτό καί περί τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος· «οὐδείς γάρ οἶδε τά τοῦ Θεοῦ, εἰ μή τό Πνεῦμα τό ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ». Πάντα τοίνυν, ὅσα περί Θεοῦ θεωρεῖ ὁ μακάριος οὖτος ἀνήρ, περί τῆς σεβασμίας Τριάδος νοεῖ.

Ἀπειρίαν: Τό πεπερασμένον καί περιληπτόν ἐστιν εἰκότως, ὑφ' οὗ καί πεπέρασται· εἰ δέ ὁ Θεός τῶν ἁπάντων ἐστί τόπος, οὐ σωματικῶς, ἀλλά δημιουργικῶς (τόν γάρ οὐρανόν καί τήν γῆν καί τά πάντα αὐτός πληροῖ καί ἔξω τούτων ἐστί), δῆλον ὅτι ἀπειρία ἐστί, τουτέστι πέρας οὐκ ἔχουσα δύναμις.

Οὐ μήν ἀκοινώνητον: Τουτέστι τά πάντα τῆς αὐτοῦ μετέχουσι κοινωνίας καί σωτηρίου προνοίας.

Τήν ὑπερούσιον: Πῶς ποτέ μέν οὐσίαν τό Θεῖον καλεῖ, ποτέ δέ ὑπερούσιον, ὥσπερ νοῦν ἀνόητον, καί ὄνομα τό ὑπερ πᾶν ὄνομα, οὕτω καί οὐσίαν ὑπερούσιον.

Ἐπιβάλλοντας: Ὧν γάρ τήν κατάληψιν δέδωκεν ἡμῖν ὁ Θεός, τούτοις ἐπιβάλλειν προσήκει τόν ἡμέτερον νοῦν, καί μηδέν πέρα τῆς ἡμετέρας ἀσθενείας ζητεῖν· οἷον, ὅτι ἀγαθός, ὅτι δημιουργός, ὅτι φιλάνθρωπος, καί τά ἑξῆς, τό δέ, τίς ἡ οὐσία τοῦ Θεοῦ, μή πολυπραγμόνει.

Ἀδυνάτως ἀπαυθαδιαζομένους: Καλῶς τό ἀδυνάτως· κἄν γάρ ἐπιχειρήσειέ τις, οὐκ ἐφικνεῖται μέν, μόνον δέ, τάς νοεράς ὄψεις ἀμαυρούμενος, καί τοῦ ὄντος ἐκπίπτει φωτός, ὡς ὁ φιλονεικήσας ὅλον ἥλιον τῷ σωματικῷ δέξασθαι ὀφθαλμῷ, ὅπερ αἱ θεῖαι καί νοηταί δυνάμεις αἰνιττόμεναι, χερουβίμ καί σεραφίμ 14S_024 τά πρόσωπα καλύπτουσι, δηλοῦντα μή προσερίζειν τῇ ὑπέρ αὐτούς θεωρίᾳ μή δεδομένῃ αὐτοῖς. Καί τοῦτό ἐστι τό, «Θεόν οὐδείς ἑώρακε πώποτε». Ὅθεν οἱ θεόσοφοι δόξαν Θεοῦ, ἀλλ' οὐ Θεόν ἑωρακέναι φασί.

§ 3. Τό μέν ὑπέρ νοῦν: Σαφῶς ἐκ τούτων ἔστι λαβεῖν τήν Ἀρείου καί Εὐνομίου μανίαν, οἵ καί τεχνολογεῖν τήν ἄρρητον καί ὑπερούσιον οὐσιαν τοῦ Μονογενοῦς ἐθάρρησαν. [Ὑπέρ νοῦν γάρ ἐστι τό τῆς θεαρχίας, ἤγουν τῆς παμβασιλίδος καί ἀκατονομάστου οὐσίας τό ἀκατάληπτον].

Τῆς θεαρχίας: Θεαρχίαν καλεῖ πανταχοῦ τήν παμβασιλίδα Τριάδα διά τό καί τῶν λεγομένων θεῶν ἄρχειν, ἀγγέλων φημί καί ἁγίων, ὡς προειρήκαμεν. Κρύφιον δέ τό περί τῆς ἀκατονομάστου ἐκείνης οὐσίας ἀκατάληπτον, ὅπερ μετά μικρόν φησι σώφρονι σιγῇ καί ἀνωτέρω, ὡς θεμιτόν αὐτῷ, καί ἱεροπρεπῶς.