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one; but God and Son, having identity, as Son to Father; not being the Father Himself, but united to the Father by nature; two in number, but being one perfect substance; two, not from two parts. The perfect Son comes from a perfect Father, being from being, the express image of the Father’s hypostasis, not an unsubstantial word, but a living power, and the cause of life for all things, not like the power of a man, by which a man is powerful; for it is not the offspring of a man, or a son, or his power; but the Son or power of God, so that the Father is perfectly powerful, because He is the Father of power, and the Son is perfect power, because He is His offspring. And the Son is the wisdom of the Father, but not as that of man, by which man is wise, but wisdom from the wise; concerning whom it is said: “To the only wise God through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever, amen.” But the Father did not beget. How then is He Father, and of whom? But if He did beget, the one who is begotten is the one who is. And I, he says, confess a generation; for the word is generated, when it is also spoken and known. And how many times will the same one, tell me, be generated? or will you say that there are many Words of God generated each time? and will you imagine God sometimes being silent, and sometimes speaking, and changing from silence to speech, and with lips being opened, or a heart being moved? God is not a man; did you suppose, lawless one, that God will be like you? O man, even if you hear of the eyes of God, or the other 28.108 bodily members, do not think in a fleshly way; but through the likeness of bodily things, understand the incorporeal. For it has been said to you: God is Spirit; so also the Word is not human, nor like yours; for He is God, even if it does not seem so to you, and there are not two Gods, because neither are there two Fathers, nor is the begotten of a different substance from the one who begot. For he who introduces two principles, preaches two Gods. This is the impiety of Marcion, who speaks of a just God, the Father of his own Christ, and another good God, the Father of his own Christ. Again, he who says that one God is unbegotten, and another God is begotten, he also speaks of two Gods, because of the difference of substance, which he blasphemously introduces. But where there is one principle, and one offspring from it, a most exact and natural image; because it is also begotten from it; one God, the divinity being understood as perfect in the Father, and the Father’s divinity existing as perfect also in the Son. Since even through this small example, which the divine Scripture has made clear by naming Christ the image of the invisible God, you can understand what is said; let us again flee here too the unlikeness in the example, that the image of God is that of an artisan and of a different substance, but let us confess it to be begotten and of one substance. Nevertheless, then, he who sees the image of the king sees the king, and says: Behold, this is the king, and he has not made two kings, nor the image a part of the king, or the king of the image. So, therefore, there is one God the Father, and one divinity of the Father and the Son. But as you say, there will be one composite from two imperfect parts. But against this impiety it is good to close one's ears, and to wash one's soul; for he who imagines this confesses neither Son nor Father; since it is not possible to conceive of an imperfect Father or an imperfect Son. But it is said, he says: “For I am in the Father, and the Father in me;” but the Father is not a Word in the heart of the Son; therefore neither is the Son a Word in the heart of the Father, but a living Word from a living Father who is God, having appeared by an eternal generation, being with the Father without beginning; so that the Father is never conceived of alone. For the Trinity is always Trinity, and receives no addition of divinity. Nor is the Son, who did not exist previously with the Father, added later, nor does the Spirit come after the Son. For things that have come into being from some beginning are also creatures and servants, and are in no way numbered with the Trinity; “For going,” he says, “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit.” But He did not number with them either one 28.109 principle, or authority, or power; for it is impossible for non-eternal things to be numbered with the eternal, and with the
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εἷς· Θεὸς δὲ καὶ Υἱὸς, ταὐτότητα ἔχων, ὡς Υἱὸς πρὸς Πατέρα· οὐκ αὐτὸς ὢν ὁ Πατὴρ, ἀλλ' ἡνωμένος πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα τῇ φύσει· δύο μὲν ἀριθμῷ, μία δὲ οὖσα οὐσία τελεία· δύο, οὐκ ἐκ δύο μερῶν. Τέλειος ὁ Υἱὸς ἥκει παρὰ τελείου Πατρὸς, ὢν ἐξ ὄντος, χαρακτὴρ τῆς πα τρικῆς ὑποστάσεως, οὐ ῥῆμα ἀνυπόστατον, ἀλλὰ ζῶσα δύναμις, καὶ τοῦ ζῇν αἰτία τοῖς πᾶσιν, οὐχ οἵα ἀν θρώπου δύναμις, δι' ἣν ἄνθρωπός ἐστι δυνατός· οὐ γὰρ γέννημα ἀνθρώπου ἢ υἱὸς, ἢ δύναμις αὐτοῦ· Θεοῦ δὲ Υἱὸς ἢ δύναμις, ὥστε δυνατὸς μὲν ὁ Πατὴρ τελείως, ὅτι Πατὴρ δυνάμεως, δύναμις δὲ ὁ Υἱὸς τε λεία, ὅτι γέννημα αὐτοῦ. Καὶ σοφία τοῦ Πατρὸς ὁ Υἱὸς, ἀλλ' οὐχ ὡς ἡ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, δι' ἧς ὁ ἄνθρωπος σοφὸς, ἀλλ' ἀπὸ σοφοῦ σοφία· περὶ οὗ λέγεται· «Μόνῳ σοφῷ Θεῷ διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ᾧ ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας, ἀμήν.» Ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐγέννησεν ὁ Πατήρ. Πῶς οὖν Πατὴρ, καὶ τίνος; Εἰ δὲ ἐγέννησεν, ὁ ὤν ἐστιν ὁ γεγεννημένος. Κἀγὼ, φησὶν, ὁμολογῶ γέννη σιν· γεννᾶται γὰρ ὁ λόγος, ὅτε καὶ λαλεῖται καὶ γινώσκεται. Καὶ ποσάκις ὁ αὐτὸς, εἰπέ μοι, γεννηθήσε ται; ἢ πολλοὺς ἐρεῖς τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγους ἑκάστοτε γεννωμένους; καὶ ποτὲ μὲν σιωπῶντα φαντασθήσῃ τὸν Θεὸν, ποτὲ δὲ λαλοῦντα, καὶ μεταβαλλόμενον ἀπὸ σιω πήσεως εἰς λαλιὰν, καὶ χείλεσιν ἀνοιγομένοις, ἢ καρδίᾳ κινουμένῃ; Οὐκ ἄνθρωπος ὁ Θεός· ὑπέλαβες, ἄνομε, ὅτι ἔσται σοι ὅμοιος ὁ Θεός; Ὦ ἄνθρωπε, κἂν ὀφθαλμοὺς ἀκούσῃς Θεοῦ, κἂν τὰ ἄλλα μέλη τὰ 28.108 σωματικὰ, μὴ σαρκικῶς νόει· ἀλλὰ δι' ὁμοιότητος τῶν σωματικῶν ἐννόει τὸ ἀσώματον. Καὶ γὰρ εἴρη ταί σοι· Πνεῦμα ὁ Θεός· οὕτω καὶ ὁ Λόγος οὐκ ἀνθρώπινος, οὐδὲ οἷος ὁ σός· Θεὸς γάρ ἐστι, κἂν μή σοι δοκῇ, καὶ οὐκ εἰσὶ δύο Θεοὶ, ὅτι μηδὲ δύο Πατέ ρες, μηδὲ ἑτερούσιος τοῦ γεννήσαντος ὁ γεγεννημένος. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ ἀρχὰς εἰσάγων δύο, δύο κηρύττει Θεούς. Αὕτη Μαρκίωνος ἡ δυσσέβεια, Θεὸν λέγοντος δίκαιον ἰδίου Χριστοῦ Πατέρα, καὶ Θεὸν ἕτερον ἀγαθὸν ἰδίου Χριστοῦ Πατέρα. Πάλιν ὁ Θεὸν ἀγένητον εἶναι λέγων, ἄλλον δὲ Θεὸν γενητὸν, δύο καὶ αὐτὸς λέγει Θεοὺς, διὰ τὴν τῆς οὐσίας διαφορὰν, ἣν βλασφήμως εἰσ άγει. Ὅπου δὲ μία μὲν ἡ ἀρχὴ, ἓν δὲ τὸ ἐξ αὐτῆς γέννημα, εἰκὼν ἀκριβεστάτη καὶ φυσική· διότι καὶ γεννητὴ ἐξ αὐτοῦ· εἷς Θεὸς, τελείας μὲν ἐν Πατρὶ τῆς θεότητος νοουμένης, τελείας δὲ καὶ ἐν Υἱῷ τῆς πατρι κῆς θεότητος ὑπαρχούσης. Ἐπεὶ καὶ διὰ τοῦ μικροῦ τούτου παραδείγματος, ὅπερ ἡ θεία Γραφὴ δεδήλω κεν εἰκόνα τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ ἀοράτου τὸν Χριστὸν ὀνο μάσασα, δύνασαι καταλαβεῖν τὸ λεγόμενον· φύγωμεν πάλιν καὶ ἐνταῦθα τὸ ἀνόμοιον τὸ ἐν τῷ παραδεί γματι, τὸ τεχνίτην καὶ ἑτερούσιον εἶναι τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ εἰκόνα, γεννητὴν δὲ καὶ ὁμοούσιον ὁμολογῶμεν. Ὅμως δὴ οὖν ὁ τὴν εἰκόνα τοῦ βασιλέως ὁρῶν τὸν βασιλέα ὁρᾷ, καί φησιν· Ἰδοὺ, οὗτος ὁ βασιλεὺς, καὶ οὐ δύο πεποίηκε βασιλεῖς, οὐδὲ μέρος τοῦ βασι λέως τὴν εἰκόνα, ἢ τῆς εἰκόνος τὸν βασιλέα. Οὕτω τοίνυν εἷς Θεὸς ὁ Πατὴρ, καὶ μία θεότης Πατρὸς καὶ Υἱοῦ. Ὡς δὲ σὺ λέγεις, εἷς ἔσται σύνθετος ἐκ δύο μερῶν ἀτελῶν. Πρὸς δὲ ταύτην τὴν ἀσέβειαν ἀπο κλεῖσαι καλὸν τὰς ἀκοὰς, καὶ ἀπονίψασθαι τὴν ψυχήν· οὔτε γὰρ Υἱὸν οὔτε Πατέρα ὁ τοῦτο φαντα ζόμενος ὁμολογεῖ· ἐπεὶ μήτε Πατέρα, μήτε Υἱὸν ἀτελῆ νοεῖν ἐγχωρεῖ. Ἀλλ' εἴρηται, φησίν· «Ὅτι ἐγὼ ἐν τῷ Πατρὶ, καὶ ὁ Πατὴρ ἐν ἐμοί·» οὐκ ἔστι δὲ Λόγος ἐν καρδίᾳ τοῦ Υἱοῦ ὁ Πατήρ· οὐ τοίνυν οὐδὲ ὁ Υἱὸς Λόγος ἐν καρδίᾳ τοῦ Πατρὸς, ἀλλὰ Λόγος ζῶν ἀπὸ ζῶντος Πατρὸς Θεοῦ, ἀϊδίῳ γεννήσει πεφηνὼς, ἀνάρχως τῷ Πατρὶ συνών· ὡς μηδέποτε μόνον ἐπινοεῖσθαι τὸν Πατέρα. Ἀεὶ γὰρ Τριὰς ἡ Τριὰς, καὶ προσθήκην θεότητος οὐ λαμβάνει. Οὐδ' ὁ μὴ πρότερον ὢν σὺν τῷ Πατρὶ προστίθεται ὕστερον ὁ Υἱὸς, οὐδὲ τῷ Υἱῷ τὸ Πνεῦμα ἐπιγίνεται. Τὰ γὰρ ἀπό τινος ἀρχῆς γεγε νημένα καὶ ποιήματά ἐστι καὶ δοῦλα, καὶ τῇ Τριάδι συναριθμεῖται οὐδαμῶς· «Πορευθέντες γὰρ,» φησὶ, «μαθητεύσατε πάντα τὰ ἔθνη, βαπτίζοντες αὐ τοὺς εἰς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ Πατρὸς, καὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ, καὶ τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος.» Ἀρχὴν δὲ οὔτε μίαν, οὔτε ἐξου 28.109 σίαν, οὔτε δύναμιν συνηρίθμησεν· ἀϊδίῳ γὰρ τὰ μὴ ἀΐδια συναριθμεῖσθαι ἀδύνατον, καὶ τῇ