4
working, and receiving the Word when He comes; and not only so, but also holding Him fast, and showing Him forth to others.
11. Since, then, we have cleared the theatre by our discourse, come let us now philosophize a little about the festival, and celebrate it with souls that love festivals and love God. And since the chief part of a festival is the remembrance of God, let us be mindful of God. For I think that the sound of them that keep festival there, where is the dwelling place of all who rejoice, is nothing else than this: God being hymned and glorified by those who have been deemed worthy of the citizenship there. And if my present discourse shall contain anything of what has been said before, let no one be surprised. For I shall not only speak the same things, but also about the same things, with awe in my tongue, and mind, and thought, whenever I speak of God, praying along with you for this same laudable and blessed experience. And when I say God, be ye illumined by one light and by three; by three, in respect of the properties, or hypostases, if any one prefers so to call them, or persons (for we will not quarrel about the names, so long as the syllables lead to the same thought); but by one in respect of the concept of the essence, or Godhead. For It is divided undividedly, if I may so say, and is united in division. For the Godhead is one in three, and the three are one, those in whom is the Godhead, or, to be more precise, who are the Godhead. But we will leave out the excesses and defects 36.348; neither making the Union a confusion, nor the division, an alienation. For let Sabellius's contraction be equally far from us, and Arius's division, those diametrically opposite evils, and equal in their impiety. For what need is there to either contract God wrongly, or to cut Him up into inequality?
12. But to us there is one God, the Father, of Whom are all things, and one Lord Jesus Christ, by Whom are all things, and one Holy Spirit, in Whom are all things; the 'of Whom' and 'by Whom' and 'in Whom' do not cut the natures (for then neither the prepositions nor the order of the names would change), but they characterize the properties of one and unconfused nature. And this is clear from the way they are again gathered into one, if one reads not carelessly that passage in the same Apostle: 'Of Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things: to Him be glory forever. Amen.' The Father is Father, and is without beginning; for He is not from anyone. The Son is Son, and not without beginning; for He is from the Father. But if you take the beginning from time, He is also without beginning; for the Maker of times is not under time. The Holy Spirit is truly Spirit, proceeding indeed from the Father, but not in a Son-like manner, for it is not by generation, but by procession; if I must innovate somewhat in the terms for the sake of clarity. Neither has the Father departed from His unbegottenness, because He has begotten; nor the Son from His begottenness, because He is from the Unbegotten. For how could He? Nor has the Spirit changed either into the Father or into the Son, because He has proceeded, and because He is God, even if it does not seem so to the godless; for the property is unchangeable. Or how could the property remain, if it were moved and changed? But they who posit the unbegottenness and the begottenness as natures of homonymous Gods, would perhaps also make Adam and Seth alien from each other in nature, on the ground that the one was not from flesh (for he was formed), and the other was from Adam and Eve. There is therefore one God in three, and the three are one, as we have said.
13. Now since these things, or this thing, are so, and since worship ought not to be confined to those above, but there must also be some worshippers below, that all things might be filled with the glory of God, since they are of God; and for this reason man is created, honored by the hand of God and by His image. But for God to overlook this man, who was miserably separated from his Maker by the envy of the devil and by the bitter taste of sin, was not worthy of God. What then happens? and what is the great mystery concerning us? Natures are renewed, and God becomes man; and He Who rides upon the heaven of heavens towards the east of His own 36.349 glory and splendor, is glorified in the west of our lowliness and humility,
4
γαζόμενοι, καὶ ἥκοντα τὸν Λόγον ὑποδεχόμενοι· οὐ μόνον δὲ, ἀλλὰ καὶ κρατοῦντες, καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις προ φαίνοντες.
ΙΑʹ. Ἐπεὶ δὲ ἀνεκαθήραμεν τῷ λόγῳ τὸ θέα τρον, φέρε τι περὶ τῆς ἑορτῆς ἤδη φιλοσοφήσωμεν, καὶ συνεορτάσωμεν ταῖς φιλεόρτοις καὶ φιλοθέοις ψυ χαῖς. Ἐπεὶ δὲ κεφάλαιον ἑορτῆς μνήμη Θεοῦ, Θεοῦ μνημονεύσωμεν. Καὶ γὰρ τὸν ἐκεῖθεν τῶν ἑορταζόν των ἦχον, ἔνθα εὐφραινομένων πάντων ἡ κατοι κία, οὐκ ἄλλο τι ἢ τοῦτο εἶναι νομίζω, Θεὸν ὑμνούμενόν τε καὶ δοξαζόμενον τοῖς τῆς ἐκεῖσε πο λιτείας ἠξιωμένοις. Εἰ δέ τι τῶν ἤδη προειρημένων ὁ νῦν ἕξει λόγος, θαυμαζέτω μηδείς. Οὐ γὰρ τὰ αὐτὰ καὶ φθέγξομαι μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ περὶ τῶν αὐτῶν, φρίττων καὶ γλῶσσαν, καὶ νοῦν, καὶ διάνοιαν, ὅταν περὶ Θεοῦ φθέγγωμαι καὶ ὑμῖν ταυτὸ τοῦτο συνευχόμενος τὸ ἐπαινετὸν πάθος καὶ μακάριον. Θεοῦ δὲ ὅταν εἴπω, ἑνὶ φωτὶ περιαστράφθητε καὶ τρισί· τρισὶ μὲν, κατὰ τὰς ἰδιότητας, εἴτουν ὑποστάσεις, εἴ τινι φίλον καλεῖν, εἴτε πρόσωπα (οὐδὲν γὰρ περὶ τῶν ὀνομάτων ζυγομαχήσομεν, ἕως ἂν πρὸς τὴν αὐτὴν ἔννοιαν αἱ συλλαβαὶ φέρωσιν)· ἑνὶ δὲ, κατὰ τὸν τῆς οὐσίας λόγον, εἴτουν θεότητος. ∆ιαιρεῖται γὰρ ἀδιαι ρέτως, ἵν' οὕτως εἴπω, καὶ συνάπτεται διῃρημένως. Ἓν γὰρ ἐν τρισὶν ἡ θεότης, καὶ τὰ τρία ἕν. τὰ ἐν οἷς ἡ θεότης, ἢ, τό γε ἀκριβέστερον εἰπεῖν, ἂ ἡ θεότης. Τὰς δὲ ὑπερβολὰς καὶ ἐλλείψεις ἐλλείψω 36.348 μεν· οὔτε τὴν ἕνωσιν σύγχυσιν ἐργαζόμε νοι, οὔτε τὴν διαίρεσιν, ἀλλοτρίωσιν· Ἀπέστω γὰρ ἡμῶν ἐξ ἴσου, καὶ ἡ Σαβελλίου συναίρεσις, καὶ ἡ Ἀρείου διαίρεσις, τὰ ἐκ διαμέτρου κακὰ, καὶ ὁμότιμα τὴν ἀσέβειαν· τί γὰρ δεῖ Θεὸν, ἢ συναλείφειν κακῶς, ἢ κατατέμνειν εἰς ἀνισότητα;
ΙΒʹ. Ἡμῖν δὲ, εἰς Θεὸς ὁ Πατὴρ, ἐξ οὗ τὰ πάντα, καὶ εἷς Κύριος Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς, δι' οὗ τὰ πάντα, καὶ ἓν Πνεῦμα ἅγιον, ἐν ᾧ τὰ πάντα· τοῦ ἐξ οὗ, καὶ δι' οὗ, καὶ ἐν ᾧ, μὴ φύσεις τεμνόντων (οὐδὲ γὰρ ἂν μετέπιπτον αἱ προθέσεις, ἢ αἱ τάξεις τῶν ὀνομά των), ἀλλὰ χαρακτηριζόντων μιᾶς καὶ ἀσυχύτου φύ σεως ἰδιότητας. Καὶ τοῦτο δῆλον, ἐξ ὧν εἰς ἒν συνάγονται πάλιν, εἴ τῳ μὴ παρέργως ἐκεῖνο ἀναγινώ σκεται παρὰ τῷ αὐτῷ ἀποστόλῳ, τὸ, Ἐξ αὐτοῦ, καὶ δι' αὐτοῦ, καὶ εἰς αὐτὸν τὰ πάντα· αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας. Ἀμήν. Πατὴρ ὁ πατὴρ, καὶ ἄναρχος· οὐ γὰρ ἔκ τινος. Υἱὸς ὁ υἱὸς, καὶ οὐκ ἄναρχος· ἐκ τοῦ Πατρὸς γάρ. Εἰ δὲ τὴν ἀπὸ χρόνου λαμβάνοις ἀρχὴν, καὶ ἄναρχος· ποιητὴς γὰρ χρόνων, οὐχ ὑπὸ χρόνον. Πνεῦμα ἅγιον ἀληθῶς τὸ πνεῦμα, προϊὸν μὲν ἐκ τοῦ Πατρὸς, οὐχ ὑϊκῶς δὲ, οὐδὲ γὰρ γεννητῶς, ἀλλ' ἐκπορευτῶς· εἰ δεῖ τι καὶ καινοτομῆσαι περὶ τὰ ὀνόματα σαφηνείας ἕνεκεν. Οὔτε τοῦ Πατρὸς ἐκστάντος τῆς ἀγεννησίας, διότι γεγέννηκεν· οὔτε τοῦ Υἱοῦ τῆς γεννήσεως, ὅτι ἐκ τοῦ ἀγεννήτου. Πῶς γάρ; οὔτε τοῦ Πνεύματος, ἢ εἰς Πατέρα μετα πίπτοντος, ἢ εἰς Υἱὸν, ὅτι ἐκπεπόρευται, καὶ ὅτι Θεὸς, κἂν μὴ δοκῇ τοῖς ἀθέοις· ἡ γὰρ ἰδιότης ἀκίνη τος. Ἢ πῶς ἂν ἰδιότης μένοι, κινουμένη καὶ μετα πίπτουσα; Οἱ δὲ τὴν ἀγεννησίαν, καὶ τὴν γέννησιν φύσεις Θεῶν ὁμωνύμων τιθέμενοι, τάχα ἂν καὶ τὸν Ἀδὰμ, καὶ τὸν Σὴθ ὅτι ὁ μὲν οὐκ ἀπὸ σαρκός· πλάσμα γάρ· ὁ δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἀδὰμ καὶ τῆς Εὔας) ἀλλήλων κατὰ τὴν φύσιν ἀλλοτριώσουσιν. Εἷς οὖν Θεὸς ἐν τρισὶ, καὶ τὰ τρία ἓν, ὥσπερ ἔφαμεν.
ΙΓʹ. Ἐπεὶ δὲ οὕτω ταῦτα, ἢ τοῦτο, ἔδει δὲ μὴ τοῖς ἄνω μόνον τὴν προσκύνησιν περιγράφεσθαι, ἀλλ' εἶ ναί τινας καὶ κάτω προσκυνητὰς, ἵνα πληρωθῇ τὰ πάντα δόξης Θεοῦ, ἐπεὶ καὶ Θεοῦ· καὶ διὰ τοῦτο κτίζεται ἄνθρωπος, χειρὶ Θεοῦ τιμηθεὶς καὶ εἰκόνι. Τοῦτον δὲ φθόνῳ διαβόλου, καὶ πικρᾷ γεύσει τῆς ἁμαρτίας, Θεοῦ τοῦ πεποιηκότος ἐλεεινῶς χω ριζόμενον παριδεῖν, οὐ Θεοῦ. Τί γίνεται; καὶ τί τὸ μέγα περὶ ἡμᾶς μυστήριον; Καινοτομοῦνται φύσεις, καὶ Θεὸς ἄνθρωπος γίνεται· καὶ ὁ ἐπιβεβηκὼς ἐπὶ τὸν οὐρανὸν τοῦ οὐρανοῦ κατὰ ἀνατολὰς τῆς ἰδίας 36.349 δόξης τε καὶ λαμπρότητος, ἐπὶ δυσμῶν δοξάζεται τῆς ἡμετέρας εὐτελείας καὶ ταπεινότητος,