Chapter III.—Two senses of the word Son, 1. adoptive; 2. essential; attempts of Arians to find a third meaning between these; e.g. that our Lord only was created immediately by God (Asterius’s view), or that our Lord alone partakes the Father. The second and true sense; God begets as He makes, really; though His creation and generation are not like man’s; His generation independent of time; generation implies an internal, and therefore an eternal, act in God; explanation ofProv. viii. 22.

6. They say then what the others held and dared to maintain before them; “Not always Father, not always Son; for the Son was not before His generation, but, as others, came to be from nothing; and in consequence God was not always Father of the Son; but, when the Son came to be and was created, then was God called His Father. For the Word is a creature and a work, and foreign and unlike the Father in essence; and the Son is neither by nature the Father’s true Word, nor His only and true Wisdom; but being a creature and one of the works, He is improperly31    καταχρηστικῶς. This word is noticed and protested against by Alexander, Socr. Hist. i. 6. p. 11 a. by the Semiarians at Ancyra, Epiph. Hær. 73. n. 5. by Basil. contr. Eunom. ii. 23. and by Cyril, Dial. ii. t. v. i. pp. 432, 3. called Word and Wisdom; for by the Word which is in God was He made, as were all things. Wherefore the Son is not true God32    Vid. Ep. Æg. 12. Orat. i. §5. 6. de Synod. 15, 16. Athanas. seems to have had in mind Socr. i. 6. p. 10, 11, or the like..”

Now it may serve to make them understand what they are saying, to ask them first this, what in fact a son is, and of what is that name significant33    Vid. Orat. i. §38. The controversy turned on the question what was meant by the word ‘Son.’ Though the Arians would not allow with the Catholics that our Lord was Son by nature, and maintained that the word implied a beginning of existence, they did not dare to say that He was Son merely in the sense in which we are sons, though, as Athan. contends, they necessarily tended to this conclusion, directly they receded from the Catholic view. Thus Arius said that He was a creature, ‘but not as one of the creatures.’ Orat. ii. §19. Valens at Ariminum said the same, Jerom. adv. Lucifer. 18. Hilary says, that not daring directly to deny that He was God, the Arians merely asked ‘whether He was a Son.’ de Trin. viii. 3. Athanasius remarks upon this reluctance to speak out, challenging them to present ‘the heresy naked,’ de Sent. Dionys. 2. init. ‘No one,’ he says elsewhere, ‘puts a light under a bushel; let them shew the world their heresy naked.’ Ep. Æg. 18. vid. ibid. 10. In like manner, Basil says that (though Arius was really like Eunomius, in faith, contr. Eunom. i. 4) Aetius his master was the first to teach openly (φανερῶς), that the Father’s substance was unlike, ἀνόμοιος, the Son’s. ibid. i. 1. Epiphanius Hær. 76 p. 949. seems to say that the elder Arians held the divine generation in a sense in which Aetius did not, that is, they were not so consistent and definite as he. Athan. goes on to mention some of the attempts of the Arians to find some theory short of orthodoxy, yet short of that extreme heresy, on the other hand, which they felt ashamed to avow.. In truth, Divine Scripture acquaints us with a double sense of this word:—one which Moses sets before us in the Law, ‘When ye shall hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep all His commandments which I command thee this day, to do that which is right in the eyes of the Lord thy God, ye are children of the Lord your God34    Deut. xiii. 18; xiv. 1.;’ as also in the Gospel, John says, ‘But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God35    John. i. 12.:’—and the other sense, that in which Isaac is son of Abraham, and Jacob of Isaac, and the Patriarchs of Jacob. Now in which of these two senses do they understand the Son of God that they relate such fables as the foregoing? for I feel sure they will issue in the same irreligion with Eusebius and his fellows.

If in the first, which belongs to those who gain the name by grace from moral improvement, and receive power to become sons of God (for this is what their predecessors said), then He would seem to differ from us in nothing; no, nor would He be Only-begotten, as having obtained the title of Son as others from His virtue. For granting what they say, that, whereas His qualifications were fore-known36    Theod. Hist. i. 3., He therefore received grace from the first, the name, and the glory of the name, from His very first beginning, still there will be no difference between Him and those who receive the name after their actions, so long as this is the ground on which He as others has the character of son. For Adam too, though he received grace from the first, and upon his creation was at once placed in paradise, differed in no respect either from Enoch, who was translated thither after some time from his birth on his pleasing God, or from the Apostle, who likewise was caught up to Paradise after his actions; nay, not from him who once was a thief, who on the ground of his confession, received a promise that he should be forthwith in paradise.

7. When thus pressed, they will perhaps make an answer which has brought them into trouble many times already; “We consider that the Son has this prerogative over others, and therefore is called Only-begotten, because He alone was brought to be by God alone, and all other things were created by God through the Son37    This is celebrated as an explanation of the Anomœans. vid. Basil. contr. Eunom. ii. 20, 21. though Athan. speaks of it as belonging to the elder Arians. vid. Socr. Hist. i. 6..” Now I wonder who it was38    i.e. what is your authority? is it not a novel, and therefore a wrong doctrine? vid. infr. §13. ad Serap. i. 3. Also Orat. i. §8. ‘Who ever heard such doctrine? or whence or from whom did they hear it? who, when they were under catechising, spoke thus to them? If they themselves confess that they now hear it for the first time, they must grant that their heresy is alien, and not from the Fathers.’ vid. ii. §34. and Socr. i. 6. p. 11 c. that suggested to you so futile and novel an idea as that the Father alone wrought with His own hand the Son alone, and that all other things were brought to be by the Son as by an under-worker. If for the toil’s sake God was content with making the Son only, instead of making all things at once, this is an irreligious thought, especially in those who know the words of Esaias, ‘The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, hungereth not, neither is weary; there is no searching of His understanding39    Is. xl. 28..’ Rather it is He who gives strength to the hungry, and through His Word refreshes the labouring40    Ib. 29. Again, it is irreligious to suppose that He disdained, as if a humble task, to form the creatures Himself which came after the Son; for there is no pride in that God, who goes down with Jacob into Egypt, and for Abraham’s sake corrects Abimelek because of Sara, and speaks face to face with Moses, himself a man, and descends upon Mount Sinai, and by His secret grace fights for the people against Amalek. However, you are false even in this assertion, for ‘He made us, and not we ourselves41    Ps. c. 3..’ He it is who through His Word made all things small and great, and we may not divide the creation, and says this is the Father’s, and this the Son’s, but they are of one God, who uses His proper Word as a Hand42    Vid. infr. §17 Orat. ii. §31. 71. Irenæus calls the Son and Holy Spirit the Hands of God. Hær. iv. præf. vid. also Hilar. de Trin. vii. 22. This image is in contrast to that of instrument, ὄργανον, which the Arians would use of the Son. vid. Socr. i. 6. p. 11, as implying He was external to God, whereas the word Hand implies His consubstantiality with the Father., and in Him does all things. This God Himself shews us, when He says, ‘All these things hath My Hand made43    Is. lxvi. 2.;’ while Paul taught us as he had learned44    μαθὼν ἐδίδασκεν, implying the traditional nature of the teaching. And so S. Paul himself, 1 Cor. xv. 3, vid. for an illustration, supr. §5. init. also note 2., that ‘There is one God, from whom all things; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom all things45    1 Cor. viii. 6..’ Thus He, always as now, speaks to the sun and it rises, and commands the clouds and it rains upon one place; and where it does not rain, it is dried up. And He bids the earth yield her fruits, and fashions Jeremias46    Jer. i. 5. in the womb. But if He now does all this, assuredly at the beginning also He did not disdain to make all things Himself through the Word; for these are but parts of the whole.

8. But let us suppose that the other creatures could not endure to be wrought by the absolute Hand of the Unoriginate47    Orat. ii. §24. fin. and therefore the Son alone was brought into being by the Father alone, and other things by the Son as an underworker and assistant, for this is what Asterius the sacrificer48    Vid. infr. 20. Orat. i. §31. ii. §§24, 28. 37. 40. iii. §§2. 60. de Synod §§18. 19. [Prolegg. ch. ii. §3 (2) a.] has written, and Arius has transcribed49    Vid. also infr. §20. de Synod. §17. and bequeathed to his own friends, and from that time they use this form of words, broken reed as it is, being ignorant, the bewildered men, how brittle it is. For if it was impossible for things originate to bear the hand of God, and you hold the Son to be one of their number, how was He too equal to this formation by God alone? and if a Mediator became necessary that things originate might come to be, and you hold the Son to be originated, then must there have been some medium before Him, for His creation; and that Mediator himself again being a creature, it follows that he too needed another Mediator for his own constitution. And though we were to devise another, we must first devise his Mediator, so that we shall never come to an end. And thus a Mediator being ever in request, never will the creation be constituted, because nothing originate, as you say, can bear the absolute hand of the Unoriginate50    Vid. infr. §24. Orat. i. §15. fin. ii. §29. Epiph. Hær. 76. p. 951.. And if, on your perceiving the extravagance of this, you begin to say that the Son, though a creature, was made capable of being made by the Unoriginate, then it follows that other things also, though originated, are capable of being wrought immediately by the Unoriginate; for the Son too is but a creature in your judgment, as all of them. And accordingly the origination of the Word is superfluous, according to your irreligious and futile imagination, God being sufficient for the immediate formation of all things, and all things originate being capable of sustaining His absolute hand.

These irreligious men then having so little mind amid their madness, let us see whether this particular sophism be not even more irrational than the others. Adam was created alone by God alone through the Word; yet no one would say that Adam had any prerogative over other men, or was different from those who came after him, granting that he alone was made and fashioned by God alone, and we all spring from Adam, and consist according to succession of the race, so long as he was fashioned from the earth as others, and at first not being, afterwards came to be.

9. But though we were to allow some prerogative to the Protoplast as having been deemed worthy of the hand of God, still it must be one of honour not of nature. For he came of the earth, as other men; and the hand which then fashioned Adam, is also both now and ever fashioning and giving entire consistence to those who come after him. And God Himself declares this to Jeremiah, as I said before; ‘Before I formed thee in the womb, I knew thee51    Jer. i. 5.;’ and so He says of all, ‘All those things hath My hand made52    Is. lxvi. 2.;’ and again by Isaiah, ‘Thus saith the Lord, thy redeemer, and He that formed thee from the womb, I am the Lord that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by Myself53    Ib. xliv. 24..’ And David, knowing this, says in the Psalm, ‘Thy hands have made me and fashioned me54    Ps. cxix. 73.;’ and he who says in Isaiah, ‘Thus saith the Lord who formed me from the womb to be His servant55    Is. xlix. 5.,’ signifies the same. Therefore, in respect of nature, he differs nothing from us though he precede us in time, so long as we all consist and are created by the same hand. If then these be your thoughts, O Arians, about the Son of God too, that thus He subsists and came to be, then in your judgment He will differ nothing on the score of nature from others, so long as He too was not, and came to be, and the name was by grace united to Him in His creation for His virtue’s sake. For He Himself is one of those, from what you say, of whom the Spirit says in the Psalms, ‘He spake the word, and they were made; He commanded, and they were created56    Ps. cxlviii. 5 (LXX)..’ If so, who was it by whom God gave command57    In like manner, ‘Men were made through the Word, when the Father Himself willed.’ Orat. i. 63. ‘The Word forms matter as injoined by, and ministering to, God.’ προσταττόμενος καὶ ὑπουργῶν. ibid. ii. §22. contr. Gent. 46. vid. note on Orat. ii. 22. for the Son’s creation? for a Word there must be by whom God gave command, and in whom the works are created; but you have no other to shew than the Word you deny, unless indeed you should devise again some new notion.

“Yes,” they will say, “we have another;” (which indeed I formerly heard Eusebius and his fellows use), “on this score do we consider that the Son of God has a prerogative over others, and is called Only-begotten, because He alone partakes the Father, and all other things partake the Son.” Thus they weary themselves in changing and in varying their phrases like colours58    ad Serap. i. 3.; however, this shall not save them from an exposure, as men that are of the earth, speaking vainly, and wallowing in their own conceits as in mire.

10. For if He were called God’s Son, and we the Son’s sons, their fiction were plausible; but if we too are said to be sons of that God, of whom He is Son, then we too partake the Father59    His argument is, that if the Son but partook the Father in the sense in which we partake the Son, then the Son would not impart to us the Father, but Himself, and would be a separating as well as uniting medium between the Father and us; whereas He brings us so near to the Father, that we are the Father’s children, not His, and therefore He must be Himself one with the Father, or the Father must be in Him with an incomprehensible completeness. vid. de Synod. §51. contr. Gent. 46. fin. Hence S. Augustin says, ‘As the Father has life in Himself, so hath He given also to the Son to have life in Himself, not by participating, but in Himself. For we have not life in ourselves, but in our God. But that Father, who has life in Himself, begat a Son such, as to have life in Himself, not to become partaker of life, but to be Himself life; and of that life to make us partakers.’ Serm. 127. de Verb. Evang. 9., who says, ‘I have begotten and exalted children60    Is. i. 2..’ For if we did not partake Him, He had not said, ‘I have begotten;’ but if He Himself begat us, no other than He is our Father61    ‘To say God is wholly partaken, is the same as saying that God begets.’ Orat. i. §16. And in like manner, our inferior participation involves such sonship as is vouchsafed to us.. And, as before, it matters not, whether the Son has something more and was made first, but we something less, and were made afterwards, as long as we all partake, and are called sons, of the same Father62    And so in Orat. ii. §19–22. ‘Though the Son surpassed other things on a comparison, yet He were equally a creature with them; for even in those things which are of a created nature, we may find some things surpassing others. Star, for instance, differs from star in glory, yet it does not follow that some are sovereign, and others serve, &c.’ ii. §20. And so Gregory Nyssen contr. Eunom. iii. p. 132 D. Epiph. Hær. 76. p. 970.. For the more or less does not indicate a different nature; but attaches to each according to the practice of virtue; and one is placed over ten cities, another over five; and some sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel; and others hear the words, ‘Come, ye blessed of My Father,’ and, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant63    Matt. xxv. 21, 23, 34..’ With such ideas, however, no wonder they imagine that of such a Son God was not always Father, and such a Son was not always in being, but was generated from nothing as a creature, and was not before His generation; for such an one is other than the True Son of God.

But to persist in such teaching does not consist with piety64    i.e. since it is impossible they can persist in evasions so manifest as these, nothing is left but to take the other sense of the word., for it is rather the tone of thought of Sadducees and the Samosatene65    Paul of Samosata [see Prolegg. ch. ii. §3 (2)a.]; it remains then to say that the Son of God is so called according to the other sense, in which Isaac was son of Abraham; for what is naturally begotten from any one and does not accrue to him from without, that in the nature of things is a son, and that is what the name implies66    The force lies in the word φύσει, ‘naturally,’ which the Council expressed still more definitely by ‘essence.’ Thus Cyril says, ‘the term “Son” denotes the essential origin from the Father.’ Dial. 5. p. 573. And Gregory Nyssen, ‘the title “Son” does not simply express the being from another’ vid. infra. §19.), but relationship according to nature. contr. Eunom. ii. p. 91. Again S. Basil says, that Father is ‘a term of relationship,’ οἰκειώσεως. contr. Eunom. ii. 24. init. And hence he remarks, that we too are properly, κυρίως, sons of God, as becoming related to Him through works of the Spirit. ii. 23. So also Cyril, loc. cit. Elsewhere S. Basil defines father ‘one who gives to another the origin of being according to a nature like his own;’ and a son ‘one who possesses the origin of being from another by generation,’ contr. Eun. ii. 22. On the other hand, the Arians at the first denied that ‘by nature there was any Son of God.’ Theod. H. E. i. 3. p. 732.. Is then the Son’s generation one of human affection? (for this perhaps, as their predecessors67    vid. Eusebius, in his Letter, supr. p. 73 sq.: also Socr. Hist. i. 8. Epiphan. Hær. 69. n. 8 and 15., they too will be ready to object in their ignorance;)—in no wise; for God is not as man, nor men as God. Men were created of matter, and that passible; but God is immaterial and incorporeal. And if so be the same terms are used of God and man in divine Scripture, yet the clear-sighted, as Paul enjoins, will study it, and thereby discriminate, and dispose of what is written according to the nature of each subject, and avoid any confusion of sense, so as neither to conceive of the things of God in a human way, nor to ascribe the things of man to God68    One of the characteristic points in Athanasius is his constant attention to the sense of doctrine, or the meaning of writers, in preference to the words used. Thus he scarcely uses the symbol ὁμοούσιον, one in substance, throughout his Orations, and in the de Synod. acknowledges the Semiarians as brethren. Hence infr. §18. he says, that orthodox doctrine ‘is revered by all though expressed in strange language, provided the speaker means religiously, and wishes to convey by it a religious sense.’ vid. also §21. He says, that Catholics are able to ‘speak freely,’ or to expatiate, παρρησιαζόμεθα, ‘out of Divine Scripture.’ Orat. i. §9. vid. de Sent. Dionys. §20. init. Again: ‘The devil spoke from Scripture, but was silenced by the Saviour; Paul spoke from profane writers, yet, being a saint, he has a religious meaning.’ de Syn. §39, also ad Ep. Æg. 8. Again, speaking of the apparent contrariety between two Councils, ‘It were unseemly to make the one conflict with the other, for all their members are fathers; and it were profane to decide that these spoke well and those ill, for all of them have slept in Christ.’ §43. also §47. Again: ‘Not the phrase, but the meaning and the religious life, is the recommendation of the faithful.’ ad Ep. Æg. §9.. For this were to mix wine with water69    vid. Orat. iii. §35, and Isa. i. 22., and to place upon the altar strange fire with that which is divine.

11. For God creates, and to create is also ascribed to men; and God has being, and men are said to be, having received from God this gift also. Yet does God create as men do? or is His being as man’s being? Perish the thought; we understand the terms in one sense of God, and in another of men. For God creates, in that He calls what is not into being, needing nothing thereunto; but men work some existing material, first praying, and so gaining the wit to make, from that God who has framed all things by His proper Word. And again men, being incapable of self-existence, are enclosed in place, and consist in the Word of God; but God is self-existent, enclosing all things, and enclosed by none; within all according to His own goodness and power, yet without all in His proper nature70    Vid. also Incarn. §17. This contrast is not commonly found in ecclesiastical writers, who are used to say that God is present everywhere, in substance as well as by energy or power. S. Clement, however, expresses himself still more strongly in the same way, ‘In substance far off (for how can the originate come close to the Unoriginate?), but most close in power, in which the universe is embosomed.’ Strom. 2. circ. init. but the parenthesis explains his meaning. Vid. Cyril. Thesaur. 6. p. 44. The common doctrine of the Fathers is, that God is present everywhere in substance. Vid. Petav. de Deo, iii. 8. and 9. It may be remarked, that S. Clement continues ‘neither enclosing nor enclosed.’. As then men create not as God creates, as their being is not such as God’s being, so men’s generation is in one way, and the Son is from the Father in another71    In Almighty God is the perfection and first pattern of what is seen in shadow in human nature, according to the imperfection of the subject matter; and this remark applies, as to creation, so to generation. Athanasius is led to state this more distinctly in another connection in Orat. i. §21. fin. ‘It belongs to the Godhead alone, that the Father is properly (κυρίως) Father, and the Son properly (κυρίως) Son; and in Them and Them only does it hold that the Father is ever Father, and the Son ever Son.’ Accordingly he proceeds, shortly afterwards, as in the text, to argue, ‘For God does not make men His pattern, but rather we men, for that God is properly and alone truly Father of His own Son, are also called fathers of our own children, for “of Him is every father-hood in heaven and on earth named,”’ §23. The Semiarians at Ancyra quote the same text for the same doctrine. Epiphan. Hær. 73. 5. As do Cyril in Joan. i. p. 24. Thesaur. 32. p. 281. and Damascene de Fid. Orth. i. 8. The same parallel, as existing between creation and generation is insisted on by Isidor. Pel. Ep. iii. 355. Basil contr. Eun. iv. p. 280 A., Cyril Thesaur. 6. p. 43. Epiph. Hær. 69. 36. and Gregor. Naz. Orat. 20. 9. who observes that God creates with a word, Ps. cxlviii. 5, which evidently transcends human creations. Theodorus Abucara, with the same object, draws out the parallel of life, ζωὴ, as Athan. that of being, εἶναι. Opusc. iii. p. 420–422.. For the offspring of men are portions of their fathers, since the very nature of bodies is not uncompounded, but in a state of flux72    Vid. de Synod. §51. Orat. i. §15, 16. ῥευστὴ. vid. Orat. i. §28. Bas. in Eun. ii. 23. ῥύσιν. Bas. in Eun. ii. 6. Greg. Naz. Orat. 28, 22. Vid. contr. Gentes, §§41, 42; where Athan. without reference to the Arian controversy, draws out the contrast between the Godhead and human nature., and composed of parts; and men lose their substance in begetting, and again they gain substance from the accession of food. And on this account men in their time become fathers of many children; but God, being without parts, is Father of the Son without partition or passion; for there is neither effluence73    S. Cyril, Dial. iv. init. p. 505 E. speaks of the θρυλλουμένη ἀποῤ& 191·οὴ, and disclaims it, Thesaur. 6. p. 43. Athan. disclaims it, Expos. §1. Orat. i. §21. So does Alexander, ap. Theod. Hist. i. 3. p. 743. On the other hand, Athanasius quotes it in a passage which he adduces from Theognostus, infr. §25. and from Dionysius, de Sent. D. §23. and Origen uses it, Periarchon, i. 2. It is derived from Wisd. vii. 25. of the Immaterial, nor influx from without, as among men; and being uncompounded in nature, He is Father of One Only Son. This is why He is Only-begotten, and alone in the Father’s bosom, and alone is acknowledged by the Father to be from Him, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased74    Matt. iii. 17..’ And He too is the Father’s Word, from which may be understood the impassible and impartitive nature of the Father, in that not even a human word is begotten with passion or partition, much less the Word of God75    The title ‘Word’ implies the ineffable mode of the Son’s generation, as distinct from material parallels, vid. Gregory Nyssen, contr. Eunom. iii. p. 107. Chrysostom in Joan. Hom. 2. §4. Cyril Alex. Thesaur. 5. p. 37. Also it implies that there is but One Son. vid. infr. §16. ‘As the Origin is one essence, so its Word and Wisdom is one, essential and subsisting.’ Orat. iv. 1. fin.. Wherefore also He sits, as Word, at the Father’s right hand; for where the Father is, there also is His Word; but we, as His works, stand in judgment before Him; and, while He is adored, because He is Son of the adorable Father, we adore, confessing Him Lord and God, because we are creatures and other than He.

12. The case being thus, let who will among them consider the matter, so that one may abash them by the following question; Is it right to say that what is God’s offspring and proper to Him is out of nothing? or is it reasonable in the very idea, that what is from God has accrued to Him, that a man should dare to say that the Son is not always? For in this again the generation of the Son exceeds and transcends the thoughts of man, that we become fathers of our own children in time, since we ourselves first were not and then came into being; but God, in that He ever is, is ever Father of the Son76    ‘Man,’ says S. Cyril, ‘inasmuch as he had a beginning of being, also has of necessity a beginning of begetting, as what is from him is a thing generate, but.…if God’s essence transcend time, or origin, or interval, His generation too will transcend these; nor does it deprive the Divine Nature of the power of generating, that it doth not this in time. For other than human is the manner of divine generation; and together with God’s existing is His generating implied, and the Son was in Him by generation, nor did His generation precede His existence, but He was always, and that by generation.’ Thesaur. v. p. 35.. And the origination of mankind is brought home to us from things that are parallel; but, since ‘no one knoweth the Son but the Father, and no one knoweth the Father but the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him77    Matt. xi. 27.,’ therefore the sacred writers to whom the Son has revealed Him, have given us a certain image from things visible, saying, ‘Who is the brightness of His glory, and the Expression of His Person78    Heb. i. 3.;’ and again, ‘For with Thee is the well of life, and in Thy light shall we see light79    Ps. xxxvi. 9.;’ and when the Word chides Israel, He says, ‘Thou hast forsaken the Fountain of wisdom80    Bar. iii. 12.;’ and this Fountain it is which says, ‘They have forsaken Me the Fountain of living waters81    Jer. ii. 13. Vid. infr. passim. All these titles, ‘Word, Wisdom, Light’ &c., serve to guard the title ‘Son’ from any notions of parts or dimensions, e.g. ‘He is not composed of parts, but being impassible and single, He is impassibly and indivisibly Father of the Son…for…the Word and Wisdom is neither creature, nor part of Him Whose Word He is, nor an offspring passibly begotten.’ Orat. i. §28..’ And mean indeed and very dim is the illustration82    Ad Serap. 20. compared with what we desiderate; but yet it is possible from it to understand something above man’s nature, instead of thinking the Son’s generation to be on a level with ours. For who can even imagine that the radiance of light ever was not, so that he should dare to say that the Son was not always, or that the Son was not before His generation? or who is capable of separating the radiance from the sun, or to conceive of the fountain as ever void of life, that he should madly say, ‘The Son is from nothing,’ who says, ‘I am the life83    John xiv. 6.,’ or ‘alien to the Father’s essence,’ who, says, ‘He that hath seen Me, hath seen the Father84    Ib. 9?’ for the sacred writers wishing us thus to understand, have given these illustrations; and it is unseemly and most irreligious, when Scripture contains such images, to form ideas concerning our Lord from others which are neither in Scripture, nor have any religious bearing.

13. Therefore let them tell us, from what teacher or by what tradition they derived these notions concerning the Saviour? “We have read,” they will say, “in the Proverbs, ‘The Lord created me a beginning of His ways unto His works85    Prov. viii. 22, and cf. Orat. ii. throughout.;’” this Eusebius and his fellows used to insist on86    Eusebius of Nicomedia quotes it in his Letter to Paulinus, ap. Theodor. Hist. i. 5. And Eusebius of Cæsarea, Demonstr. Evang. v. 1., and you write me word, that the present men also, though overthrown and confuted by an abundance of arguments, still were putting about in every quarter this passage, and saying that the Son was one of the creatures, and reckoning Him with things originated. But they seem to me to have a wrong understanding of this passage also; for it has a religious and very orthodox sense, which had they understood, they would not have blasphemed the Lord of glory. For on comparing what has been above stated with this passage, they will find a great difference between them87    i.e. ‘Granting that the primâ facie impression of this text is in favour of our Lord’s being a creature, yet so many arguments have been already brought, and may be added, against His creation, that we must interpret this text by them. It cannot mean that our Lord was simply created, because we have already shewn that He is not external to His Father.’. For what man of right understanding does not perceive, that what are created and made are external to the maker; but the Son, as the foregoing argument has shewn, exists not externally, but from the Father who begat Him? for man too both builds a house and begets a son, and no one would reverse things, and say that the house or the ship were begotten by the builder88    Serap. 2, 6. Sent. Dion. §4., but the son was created and made by him; nor again that the house was an image of the maker, but the son unlike him who begat him; but rather he will confess that the son is an image of the father, but the house a work of art, unless his mind be disordered, and he beside himself. Plainly, divine Scripture, which knows better than any the nature of everything, says through Moses, of the creatures, ‘In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth89    Gen. i. 1.;’ but of the Son it introduces not another, but the Father Himself saying, ‘I have begotten Thee from the womb before the morning star90    Ps. cx. 3.;’ and again, ‘Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee91    Ps. ii. 7..’ And the Lord says of Himself in the Proverbs, ‘Before all the hills He begets me92    Prov. viii. 25.;’ and concerning things originated and created John speaks, ‘All things were made by Him93    John i. 3.;’ but preaching of the Lord, he says, ‘The Only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He declared Him94    Ib. 18.’ If then son, therefore not creature; if creature, not son; for great is the difference between them, and son and creature cannot be the same, unless His essence be considered to be at once from God, and external to God.

14. ‘Has then the passage no meaning?’ for this, like a swarm of gnats, they are droning about us95    περιβομβοῦσιν. So in ad Afros. 5. init. And Sent. D. §19. περιέρχονται περιβομβοῦντες. And Gregory Nyssen. contr. Eun. viii. p. 234 C. ὡς ἂν τοὺς ἀπείρους ταῖς πλατωνικαῖς καλλιφωνίαι περιβομβήσειεν. vid. also περιέρχονται ὡς οἱ κάνθαροι. Orat. iii. fin.. No surely, it is not without meaning, but has a very apposite one; for it is true to say that the Son was created too, but this took place when He became man; for creation belongs to man. And any one may find this sense duly given in the divine oracles, who, instead of accounting their study a secondary matter, investigates the time and characters96    πρόσωπα. vid. Orat. i. §54. ii. §8. Sent. D. 4. not persons, but characters; which must also be considered the meaning of the word, contr. Apoll. ii. 2. and 10; though it there approximates (even in phrase, οὐκ ἐν διαιρέσεῖ προσώπων) to its ecclesiastical use, which seems to have been later. Yet persona occurs in Tertull. in Prax. 27; it may be questioned, however, whether in any genuine Greek treatise till the Apollinarians., and the object, and thus studies and ponders what he reads. Now as to the season spoken of, he will find for certain that, whereas the Lord always is, at length in fulness of the ages He became man; and whereas He is Son of God, He became Son of man also. And as to the object he will understand, that, wishing to annul our death, He took on Himself a body from the Virgin Mary; that by offering this unto the Father a sacrifice for all, He might deliver us all, who by fear of death were all our life through subject to bondage97    Heb. ii. 15.. And as to the character, it is indeed the Saviour’s, but is said of Him when He took a body and said, ‘The Lord created me a beginning of His ways unto His works98    Prov. viii. 22..’ For as it properly belongs to God’s Son to be everlasting. and in the Father’s bosom, so on His becoming man, the words befitted Him, ‘The Lord created me.’ For then it is said of Him, as also that He hungered, and thirsted, and asked where Lazarus lay, and suffered, and rose again99    Sent. D. 9. Orat. 3, §§26–41.. And as, when we hear of Him as Lord and God and true Light, we understand Him as being from the Father, so on hearing, ‘The Lord created,’ and ‘Servant,’ and ‘He suffered,’ we shall justly ascribe this, not to the Godhead, for it is irrelevant, but we must interpret it by that flesh which He bore for our sakes: for to it these things are proper, and this flesh was none other’s than the Word’s. And if we wish to know the object attained by this, we shall find it to be as follows: that the Word was made flesh in order to offer up this body for all, and that we partaking of His Spirit, might be deified100    [See de Incar. §54. 3, and note.], a gift which we could not otherwise have gained than by His clothing Himself in our created body101    Orat. 2, §70., for hence we derive our name of “men of God” and “men in Christ.” But as we, by receiving the Spirit, do not lose our own proper substance, so the Lord, when made man for us, and bearing a body, was no less God; for He was not lessened by the envelopment of the body, but rather deified it and rendered it immortal102    Cf. Orat. ii. 6. [See also de Incar. §17.].

6.1 Φασὶ τοίνυν, ὥσπερ κἀκείνοις ἐδόκει, καὶ τετολμήκασι λέγειν· «οὐκ ἀεὶ πατήρ, οὐκ ἀεὶ υἱός· οὐκ ἦν γὰρ ὁ υἱὸς πρὶν γεννηθῇ, ἀλλ' ἐξ οὐκ ὄντων γέγονε καὶ αὐτός· διὸ καὶ οὐκ ἀεὶ πατὴρ ὁ θεὸς γέγονε τοῦ υἱοῦ, ἀλλ' ὅτε γέγονε καὶ ἐκτίσθη ὁ υἱός, τότε καὶ ὁ θεὸς ἐκλήθη πατὴρ αὐτοῦ. κτίσμα γάρ ἐστι καὶ ποίημα ὁ λόγος καὶ ξένος καὶ ἀνόμοιος κατ' οὐσίαν τοῦ πατρός ἐστιν· οὔτε δὲ φύσει καὶ ἀληθινὸς λόγος τοῦ πατρός ἐστιν ὁ υἱὸς οὔτε ἡ μόνη καὶ ἀληθινὴ σοφία αὐτοῦ ἐστιν, ἀλλὰ κτίσμα καὶ εἷς τῶν ποιημάτων ὢν καταχρηστικῶς λέγεται λόγος καὶ σοφία. λόγῳ γὰρ τῷ ὄντι ἐν τῷ θεῷ γέγονε καὶ αὐτὸς ὥσπερ καὶ τὰ πάντα· διὸ οὐδὲ ἀληθινὸς θεός ἐστιν ὁ υἱός». ἐγὼ δὲ τοῦτο πρῶτον καὶ τούτους ἐρωτῆσαι βούλομαι, τί ἐστιν ὅλως υἱός, καὶ τίνος ἐστὶ τὸ ὄνομα τοῦτο σημαντικόν, ἵν' οὕτως αὐτοὶ τὰ λεγόμενα παρ' αὐτῶν κἂν οὕτως νοῆσαι δυνη θῶσιν. ἡ μὲν γὰρ θεία γραφὴ διπλῆν τὴν ἐκ τοῦ ὀνόματος τούτου διάνοιαν ἡμῖν σημαίνει, μίαν μὲν περὶ ὧν Μωυσῆς ἐν τῷ νόμῳ φησίν· «ἐὰν εἰσακούσητε τῆς φωνῆς κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ ὑμῶν, φυλάσσειν πάσας τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ, ὅσα ἐγὼ ἐντέλλομαί σοι σήμερον, ποιεῖν τὸ καλὸν καὶ ἀρεστὸν ἐνώπιον κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ σου, υἱοί ἐστε κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ ἡμῶν», καθὼς καὶ ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ φησὶν ὁ Ἰωάννης· «ὅσοι δὲ ἔλαβον αὐτόν, ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς ἐξουσίαν τέκνα θεοῦ γενέσθαι»· ἑτέραν δὲ διάνοιαν, καθ' ἣν Ἰσαὰκ τοῦ Ἁβραάμ ἐστιν υἱὸς καὶ ὁ Ἰακὼβ τοῦ Ἰσαὰκ καὶ οἱ πατριάρχαι τοῦ Ἰακώβ. αὐτοιδὲ κατὰ ποίαν ἄρα τούτων νομίσαντες εἶναι τὸν τοῦ θεοῦ υἱὸν τοιαῦτα περὶ αὐτοῦ μυθο λογοῦσιν; εἰς γὰρ τὴν αὐτὴν ἀσέβειαν εὖ οἶδ' ὅτι συνδραμοῦνται τοῖς περὶ Εὐσέβιον. εἰ μὲν οὖν κατὰ τὴν πρώτην, οἷοί εἰσιν οἱ ἐκ βελτιώσεως τρόπων ἐπικτώμενοι τὴν τοῦ ὀνόματος χάριν καὶ λαμβάνοντες ἐξουσίαν, ἵνα υἱοὶ θεοῦ γένωνται (τοῦτο γὰρ ἔλεγον κἀκεῖνοι), οὐδὲν διαφέρειν ἡμῶν δόξειεν οὐδὲ μονογενὴς ἂν εἴη ἐξ ἀρετῆς καὶ αὐτὸς ἐσχη κὼς τὴν τοῦ υἱὸς προσηγορίαν. κἂν γάρ, ὥς φασι, προγνωσθεὶς ἔσεσθαι τοιοῦτος προλαμβάνῃ καὶ ἅμα τῷ γενέσθαι δέχηται τό τε ὄνομα καὶ τὴν τοῦ ὀνόματος δόξαν, ἀλλ' οὐδὲν διοίσει τῶν μετὰ τὰς πράξεις λαμβανόντων τὸ ὄνομα, ἕως οὕτω καὶ αὐτὸς υἱὸς εἶναι μεμαρτύρηται. καὶ γὰρ Ἀδὰμ προλαμβάνων τὴν χάριν καὶ ἅμα τῷ γε νέσθαι τεθεὶς ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ οὐδὲν διήνεγκεν οὔτε τοῦ Ἐνώχ, ὃς μετὰ χρόνον τῆς γενέσεως εὐαρεστήσας μετετέθη, οὔτε τοῦ ἀποστόλου καὶ αὐτοῦ μετὰ τὰς πράξεις ἁρ παγέντος εἰς τὸν παράδεισον, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ τοῦ ποτε λῃστοῦ, ὃς διὰ τὴν ὁμολογίαν ἐπαγ γελίαν ἔλαβεν εὐθὺς εἰς τὸν παράδεισον ἔσεσθαι. Ἀλλ' ἐν τούτοις διωκόμενοι λέξουσιν ἴσως, ὃ πολλάκις λέγοντες ᾐσχύνθησαν· «οὕτως νομίζομεν τὸν υἱὸν πλέον ἔχειν παρὰ τὰ ἄλλα καὶ διὰ τοῦτο μονογενῆ λέγεσθαι, ὅτι μόνος μὲν αὐτὸς ὑπὸ μόνου τοῦ θεοῦ γέγονε, τὰ δ' ἄλλα πάντα παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ διὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ ἐκτίσθη». τίς ἄρα ταύτην ὑμῖν τὴν μωρὰν καὶ καινὴν ἐπίνοιαν ὑπέβαλεν, ἵνα εἴπητε· «τὸν μὲν υἱὸν μόνον μόνος ὁ πατὴρ αὐτούργησε, τὰ δ' ἄλλα πάντα διὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ γέγονεν ὡς δι' ὑπουργοῦ»; εἰ μὲν γὰρ διὰ τὸ κάμνειν ἠρκέσθη μόνον αὐτουργῆσαι τὸν υἱὸν ὁ θεός, τὰ δ' ἄλλα οὐκέτι, ἀσεβὲς τοιαῦτα περὶ τοῦ θεοῦ λογίζεσθαι μάλιστα τοὺς ἀκούσαντας Ἡσαίου λέγοντος· «θεὸς αἰώνιος, θεὸς ὁ κατασκευάσας τὰ ἄκρα τῆς γῆς, οὐ πεινάσει οὐδὲ κοπιάσει οὐδέ ἐστιν ἐξεύρεσις τῆς φρονήσεως αὐτοῦ». καὶ γὰρ μᾶλλον αὐτὸς τοῖς πεινῶσι δίδωσιν ἰσχὺν καὶ διὰ τοῦ λόγου ἑαυτοῦ τοὺς κάμνοντας ἀναπαύει. εἰ δὲ ὡς ταπεινὸν ἀπηξίωσεν αὐτὸς τὰ μετὰ τὸν υἱὸν αὐτουργῆσαι, καὶ τοῦτο μὲν ἀσε βές. οὐκ ἔστι γὰρ τύφος ἐν τῷ θεῷ, ὅς γε μετὰ τοῦ Ἰακὼβ εἰς Αἴγυπτον κατέρχεται, καὶ διὰ μὲν τὸν Ἁβραὰμ διορθοῦται τὸν Ἀβιμέλεχ χάριν τῆς Σάρρας, τῷ δὲ Μωυσῇ ἀνθρώπῳ ὄντι στόμα κατὰ στόμα λαλεῖ, καὶ εἰς μὲν τὸ Σινᾶ ὄρος κατέρχεται, τῷ δὲ λαῷ συνεπολέμει κρυφαίᾳ χάριτι τὸν Ἀμαλήκ. ψεύδεσθε δὲ ὅμως καὶ τοῦτο λέγοντες· «αὐτὸς γὰρ ἐποίησεν ἡμᾶς, καὶ οὐχ ἡμεῖς»· αὐτός τέ ἐστιν ὁ διὰ τοῦ λόγου ἑαυτοῦ τὰ πάντα τά τε μικρὰ καὶ τὰ μεγάλα ποιήσας, καὶ οὐκ ἔστι διελεῖν τὴν κτίσιν, ὥστε εἰπεῖν τοῦτο μὲν τοῦ πατρός, τοῦτο δὲ τοῦ υἱοῦ, ἀλλ' ἑνός ἐστι θεοῦ ὡς χειρὶ χρωμένου τῷ ἰδίῳ λόγῳ καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ ποιοῦντος τὰ πάντα, καὶ τοῦτ' αὐτὸς μὲν ὁ θεὸς δεικνὺς ἔλεγεν· «ἡ χείρ μου ἐποίησε ταῦτα πάντα». ὁ δὲ Παῦλος τοῦτο μαθὼν ἐδίδασκεν· «εἷς θεὸς ἐξ οὗ τὰ πάντα, καὶ εἷς κύριος Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς δι' οὗ τὰ πάντα». αὐτὸς γοῦν ἀεὶ καὶ νῦν λέγει τῷ μὲν ἡλίῳ καὶ ἀνατέλλει, ταῖς δὲ νεφέλαις ἐντέλλεται καὶ βρέχει ἐπὶ μίαν μερίδα, ἐφ' ἣν δὲ οὐ βρέχει, ξηραίνεται. καὶ τὴν μὲν γῆν κελεύει τοὺς καρποὺς ἀποδιδόναι, τὸν δὲ Ἰερεμίαν ἐν τῇ κοιλίᾳ πλάττει. εἰ δὲ ταῦτα νῦν αὐτὸς ποιεῖ, οὐκ ἔστιν ἀμφίβολον, ὅτι καὶ κατὰ τὴν ἀρχὴν οὐκ ἀπηξίωσεν αὐτὸς τὰ πάντα διὰ τοῦ λόγου ποιῆσαι· μέρη γὰρ τῶν ὅλων ἐστὶ ταῦτα. Εἰ δὲ ὅτι μὴ ἐδύνατο τὰ λοιπὰ κτίσματα τῆς ἀκράτου χειρὸς τοῦ ἀγενήτου τὴν ἐργασίαν βαστάξαι, μόνος ὁ υἱὸς ὑπὸ μόνου τοῦ θεοῦ γέγονε, τὰ δ' ἄλλα ὡς δι' ὑπουργοῦ καὶ βοηθοῦ τοῦ υἱοῦ γέγονε· καὶ τοῦτο γὰρ Ἀστέριος ὁ θύσας ἔγραψεν, ὁ δὲ Ἄρειος μεταγράψας δέδωκε τοῖς ἰδίοις καὶ λοιπὸν ὡς καλάμῳ τεθραυσμένῳ χρῶνται τῷ ῥηματίῳ τούτῳ ἀγνοοῦντες τὸ ἐν αὐτῷ σαθρὸν οἱ παράφρονες. εἰ γὰρ ἀδύνατον ἦν τὰ γενητὰ βαστάξαι τὴν χεῖρα τοῦ θεοῦ–ἔστι δὲ καθ' ὑμᾶς ὁ υἱὸς εἷς τῶν γενητῶν–πῶς αὐτὸς ἠδυνήθη γενέσθαι παρὰ μόνου τοῦ θεοῦ; καὶ εἰ ἵνα τὰ γενητὰ γένηται, μεσίτου γέγονε χρεία, γενητὸς δὲ καθ' ὑμᾶς ἐστιν ὁ υἱός, ἔδει καὶ πρὸ αὐτοῦ μέσον τινὰ εἶναι, ἵνα κτισθῇ. τοῦ δὲ μεσίτου πάλιν καὶ αὐτοῦ κτίσματος τυγχάνοντος ἄραρεν ὅτι κἀκεῖνος ἐδέετο μεσίτου ἑτέρου πρὸς τὴν ἰδίαν σύστασιν. κἄν τις ἄλλον ἐπινοήσῃ, προεπινοήσει τὸν ἐκείνου μεσίτην, ὥστε καὶ εἰς ἄπειρον ἐκπεσεῖν. οὕτω δὲ ἀεὶ τοῦ μεσίτου ζητουμένου οὐδὲ ἡ κτίσις συστῆναι δυνήσεται διὰ τὸ μὴ δύνασθαι, ὡς λέγετε, μηδένα τῶν γενητῶν βαστάξαι τὴν ἄκρατον χεῖρα τοῦ ἀγενήτου. εἰ δὲ τὸ ἄτοπον τοῦτο συνορῶντες ἄρχεσθε λέγειν, ὅτι ὁ υἱὸς κτίσμα ὢν ἱκανὸς γέγονεν, ὥστε ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀγενήτου γενέσθαι, ἐξ ἀνάγκης καὶ τὰ ἄλλα πάντα γενητὰ ὄντα δυνατὰ ἦν παρὰ τοῦ ἀγενήτου ὑπουργηθῆναι· κτίσμα γὰρ καθ' ὑμᾶς κἀκεῖνος ὥσπερ οὖν καὶ ταῦτα πάντα ἐστί. καὶ περιττὴ λοιπὸν τοῦ λόγου ἡ γένεσις κατὰ τὴν ἀσεβῆ καὶ μωρὰν ὑμῶν ἐπίνοιαν, αὐτάρκους ὄντος τοῦ θεοῦ τὰ πάντα αὐτουργεῖν πάντων τε τῶν γενητῶν δυναμένων τὴν ἄκρατον χεῖρα βαστάξαι τοῦ θεοῦ. ἀνοήτου δὴ οὔσης αὐτῶν τῆς τοιαύτης φρενοβλαβείας, ἴδωμεν εἰ μὴ καὶ τὸ λεγόμενον τοῦτο τῶν ἀσεβῶν τὸ σόφισμα πλέον τῶν ἄλλων αὐτῶν ἀλογώ τερον ἀναφανείη. Ἀδὰμ μόνος ὑπὸ μόνου τοῦ θεοῦ διὰ τοῦ λόγου γέγονεν. ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐν τῷ πάλιν τὸν Ἀδὰμ πλέον τι τῶν πάντων ἀνθρώπων ἔχειν ἢ διαφέρειν τῶν μετ' αὐτὸν ἄν τις φήσειεν, εἰ μόνος μὲν αὐτὸς ὑπὸ μόνου τοῦ θεοῦ πεποίηται καὶ πέπλασται, ἡμεῖς δὲ πάντες ἐκ τοῦ Ἀδὰμ γεννώμεθα καὶ κατὰ διαδοχὴν τοῦ γένους συνιστάμεθα, ἕως μόνον καὶ αὐτὸς ἐκ γῆς ἐπλάσθη, καὶ μὴ ὢν πρότερον ὕστερον γέγονεν. Εἰ δὲ καὶ πλέον τις τῷ πρωτοπλάστῳ δοίη διὰ τὸ κατηξιῶσθαι τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ χειρὸς αὐτόν, ἀλλ' ἐν τιμῇ καὶ μὴ τῇ φύσει τὸ πλέον εἰς αὐτὸν ὁ τοιοῦτος λογιζέσθω. ἐκ γῆς γὰρ γέγονεν ὥσπερ καὶ πάντες· καὶ ἡ χεὶρ δὲ ἡ πλάσασα τότε τὸν Ἀδὰμ αὕτη καὶ νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ τοὺς μετ' ἐκεῖνον πάλιν πλάττει καὶ διασυνίστησι. καὶ τοῦτο ὁ θεὸς αὐτὸς τῷ μὲν Ἰερεμίᾳ, ὡς προεῖπον, φησίν· «πρὸ τοῦ με πλάσαι σε ἐν κοιλίᾳ ἐπίσταμαί σε». περὶ δὲ τῶν πάντων ἔλεγεν· «ἡ χείρ μου ἐποίησε ταῦτα πάντα». καὶ πάλιν διὰ Ἡσαίου φησίν· «οὕτως λέγει κύριος ὁ λυτρούμενός σε καὶ πλάσσων σε ἐν κοιλίᾳ· ἐγὼ κύριος ὁ συντελῶν πάντα ἐξέτεινα τὸν οὐρανὸν μόνος καὶ ἐστερέωσα τὴν γῆν». ὁ δὲ ∆αυὶδ τοῦτο γινώσκων ἔψαλλεν· «αἱ χεῖρές σου ἐποίησάν με καὶ ἔπλασάν με». καὶ ὁ ἐν τῷ Ἡσαίᾳ λέγων· «οὕτως λέγει κύριος ὁ πλάσας με ἐκ κοιλίας δοῦλον ἑαυτῷ» τοῦτο σημαίνει. οὐκοῦν κατὰ τὴν φύσιν οὐδὲν ἡμῶν διαφέρει, κἂν προάγῃ τῷ χρόνῳ, ἕως καὶ τῇ αὐτῇ χειρὶ συνιστάμεθα καὶ κτιζόμεθα πάντες. εἰ τοίνυν οὕτως, ὦ Ἀρειανοί, καὶ περὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ φρονεῖτε, ὅτι οὕτως καὶ αὐτὸς ὑπέστη καὶ γέγονεν, οὐδὲν καθ' ὑμᾶς τῶν ἄλλων κατὰ τὴν φύσιν διοίσει, ἕως καὶ αὐτὸς οὐκ ἦν καὶ γέγονε καὶ ἐξ ἀρετῆς καὶ αὐτῷ συνεκτίσθη τοῦ ὀνόματος ἡ χάρις. εἷς γάρ ἐστι καὶ αὐτός, ἀφ' ὧν λέγετε, περὶ ὧν ἐν Ψαλμοῖς τὸ πνεῦμά φησιν· «αὐτὸς εἶπε, καὶ ἐγενήθησαν· αὐτὸς ἐνετείλατο, καὶ ἐκτίσθη σαν». τίς τοίνυν ἐστίν, ᾧ ὁ θεὸς ἐνετείλατο, ἵνα καὶ οὗτος κτισθῇ; εἶναι γὰρ δεῖ λόγον, ᾧ ἐντέλλεται ὁ θεὸς καὶ ἐν ᾧ τὰ ποιήματα κτίζεται. ἀλλ' οὐκ ἂν ἔχοιτε δεῖξαι ἕτερον παρὰ τὸν ἀρνεῖσθε λόγον, εἰ μὴ ἄρα τινὰ πάλιν ἔννοιαν ἐπινοήσητε. ναὶ γάρ, φή σουσιν, εὕρομεν· ἥν ποτε λεγόντων καὶ τῶν περὶ Εὐσέβιον ἤκουσα· «διὰ τοῦτο πλέον τῶν ἄλλων ἔχειν τὸν τοῦ θεοῦ υἱὸν καὶ λέγεσθαι μονογενῆ τοῦτον νομίζομεν, ἐπειδὴ μόνος μὲν αὐτὸς μετέχει τοῦ πατρός, τὰ δ' ἄλλα πάντα τοῦ υἱοῦ μετέχει». κεκμήκασι μὲν οὖν ἤδη μεταβαλλόμενοι καὶ μεταλλάσσοντες τὰ ῥήματα ὡς τὰ χρώματα, δειχθήσονται δὲ ὅμως καὶ οὕτως ὡς οἱ ἐκ τῆς γῆς κενολογοῦντες καὶ κυλιόμενοι ὡς ἐν βορβόρῳ ταῖς ἰδίαις ἐννοίαις. Εἰ μὲν γὰρ ἐκεῖνος μὲν τοῦ θεοῦ υἱός, ἡμεῖς δὲ τοῦ υἱοῦ υἱοὶ καλούμεθα, πιθανὸν ἦν αὐτῶν τὸ πλάσμα· εἰ δὲ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ ἡμεῖς υἱοὶ λεγόμεθα, οὗ καὶ αὐτός ἐστιν υἱός, δηλονότι καὶ ἡμεῖς τοῦ πατρὸς μετέχομεν τοῦ λέγοντος· «υἱοὺς ἐγέννησα καὶ ὕψωσα». εἰ μὴ γὰρ μετείχομεν αὐτοῦ, οὐκ ἔλεγεν· «ἐγέννησα»· εἰ δὲ αὐτὸς ἐγέννησεν, οὐχ ἕτερος ἀλλ' αὐτὸς ἡμῶν ἐστι πατήρ. καὶ οὐ διαφέρει πάλιν, εἰ πλέον ἐκεῖνος ἔχει καὶ πρῶτον γέγονεν· ἡμεῖς δὲ εἰ ἔλαττον καὶ ὕστερον γεγόναμεν, ἕως τοῦ αὐτοῦ πάντες μετέχομεν καὶ τοῦ αὐτοῦ πατρὸς υἱοὶ λεγόμεθα. τὸ γὰρ πλέον καὶ ἔλαττον οὐ τὴν φύσιν ἄλλην δείκνυσιν· ἑκάστῳ γὰρ τῆς ἀρετῆς ἡ πρᾶξις τοῦτο προστίθησι. καὶ ὁ μὲν ἐπὶ δέκα πόλεων, ὁ δὲ ἐπὶ πέντε καθίσταται· καὶ οἱ μὲν καθέζονται «ἐπὶ δώδεκα θρόνους κρίνοντες τὰς δώδεκα φυλὰς τοῦ Ἰσραήλ», οἱ δὲ ἀκούουσι· «δεῦτε οἱ εὐλογημένοι τοῦ πατρός μου»· καί· «εὖ δοῦλε ἀγαθὲ καὶ πιστέ». τοιαῦτα μὲν οὖν ἐκεῖνοι φρονοῦντες εἰκότως φαντάζονται τοιούτου υἱοῦ ἀεὶ μὴ εἶναι τὸν θεὸν πατέρα μηδὲ τὸν τοιοῦτον υἱὸν ἀεὶ εἶναι, ἀλλ' ἐξ οὐκ ὄντων κτίσμα γεγενῆσθαι καὶ μὴ εἶναι πρὶν γεννηθῇ· ἄλλος γάρ ἐστιν οὗτος παρὰ τὸν ἀληθινὸν τοῦ θεοῦ υἱόν. ἐπειδὴ δὲ ταῦτα λέγειν ἔτι τούτους οὐκ ἔστιν εὐαγές, μᾶλλον γὰρ Σαδδουκαίων καὶ τοῦ Σαμοσατέως ἐστὶ τοῦτο τὸ φρόνημα, λείπει ἄρα κατὰ τὴν ἑτέραν διάνοιαν, καθ' ἣν Ἰσαὰκ τοῦ Ἁβραάμ ἐστιν υἱός, λέγειν εἶναι καὶ τὸν τοῦ θεοῦ υἱόν· τὸ γὰρ ἔκ τινος φύσει γεννώμενον καὶ μὴ ἔξωθεν ἐπικτώμενον υἱὸν οἶδεν ἡ φύσις, καὶ τοῦτο τοῦ ὀνόματός ἐστι τὸ σημαινόμενον. ἆρ' οὖν ἀνθρωποπαθὴς ἡ τοῦ υἱοῦ γέννησις; τοῦτο γὰρ ἴσως κατ' ἐκείνους καὶ αὐτοὶ θελήσουσιν ἀντιθεῖναι μὴ γινώσκοντες. οὐδαμῶς. οὐ γὰρ ὡς ἄνθρωπος ὁ θεός, ἐπεὶ μηδὲ οἱ ἄνθρωποι ὡς ὁ θεός. οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἐξ ὕλης καὶ ταύτης οὔσης παθητικῆς ἐκτίσθησαν, ὁ δὲ θεὸς ἄυλος καὶ ἀσώματος. εἰ δὲ αἱ αὐταὶ λέξεις ἐπὶ θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπων ἐν ταῖς θείαις ποτὲ κεῖνται γραφαῖς, ἀλλ' ἀν θρώπων ἐστὶ διορατικῶν, ὡς παρήγγειλεν ὁ Παῦλος, προσέχειν τῇ ἀναγνώσει καὶ οὕτω διακρίνειν καὶ κατὰ τὴν ἑκάστου τῶν σημαινομένων φύσιν τὰ γεγραμμένα διαγινώσκειν καὶ μὴ συγχέειν τὴν διάνοιαν, ὥστε τὰ τοῦ θεοῦ μὴ ἀνθρωπίνως νοεῖν μηδὲ τὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ὡς περὶ θεοῦ ποτε λογίζεσθαι. τοῦτο γάρ ἐστι τὸν οἶνον ὕδατι μίξαι καὶ πῦρ ἀλλότριον ἐπιβάλλειν ἐπὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον τῷ θείῳ πυρί. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ ὁ θεὸς κτίζει, καὶ ἐπ' ἀνθρώπων δὲ τὸ κτίζειν εἴρηται. καὶ ὁ μὲν θεὸς ὤν ἐστι, λέγονται δὲ καὶ οἱ ἄνθρωποι εἶναι παρὰ θεοῦ καὶ τοῦτο λαβόντες ἔχειν. ἆρ' οὖν οὕτως ὁ θεὸς κτίζει ὡς ἄνθρωποι; ἢ οὕτως ὤν ἐστιν ὡς ἄνθρωπος; μὴ γένοιτο. ἄλλως ἐπὶ θεοῦ τὰς λέξεις λαμβάνομεν καὶ ἑτέρως ἐπὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ταύτας διανοούμεθα. ὁ μὲν γὰρ θεὸς κτίζει καλῶν τὰ μὴ ὄντα εἰς τὸ εἶναι οὐδενὸς ἐπιδεόμενος, οἱ δὲ ἄνθρωποι τὴν ὑποκειμένην ὕλην ἐργάζονται εὐξάμενοι πρότερον καὶ τὴν ἐπιστήμην τοῦ ποιεῖν λαβόντες παρὰ τοῦ πάντα δημιουργήσαντος θεοῦ διὰ τοῦ ἰδίου λόγου. πάλιν τε οἱ μὲν ἄνθρωποι οὐ δυνάμενοι καθ' ἑαυτοὺς εἶναι ἐν τόπῳ τυγχάνοντές εἰσι περιεχόμενοι καὶ συνεστῶτες ἐν τῷ τοῦ θεοῦ λόγῳ, ὁ δὲ θεὸς ὤν ἐστι καθ' ἑαυτὸν περιέχων τὰ πάντα καὶ ὑπ' οὐδενὸς περιεχόμενος, καὶ ἐν πᾶσι μέν ἐστι κατὰ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ἀγαθότητα καὶ δύ ναμιν, ἔξω δὲ τῶν πάντων πάλιν ἐστὶ κατὰ τὴν ἰδίαν φύσιν. ὥσπερ οὖν οὐ τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον οἱ ἄνθρωποι κτίζουσιν, ὅνπερ τρόπον ὁ θεὸς κτίζει, οὐδ' οὕτως εἰσὶν οἱ ἄνθρωποι, ὥσπερ ἐστὶν ὁ θεός· οὕτως ἄλλως ἐστὶν ἡ τῶν ἀνθρώπων γένεσις καὶ ἄλλως ἐστὶν ὁ υἱὸς ἐκ τοῦ πατρός. τῶν μὲν γὰρ ἀνθρώπων τὰ γεννήματα μέρη πως τῶν γεννώντων εἰσίν, ἐπεὶ καὶ αὐτῶν τῶν σωμάτων ἡ φύσις οὐχ ἁπλῆ τίς ἐστιν, ἀλλὰ ῥευστή, καὶ ἐκ μερῶν ἔχει τὴν σύνθεσιν. ἀπορρέουσί τε ἄνθρωποι γεννῶντες καὶ πάλιν ἐπιρρεῖ τὰ ἐκ τῶν τροφῶν εἰς αὐτοὺς εἰσαγόμενα· δι' ἣν αἰτίαν καὶ πολλῶν κατὰ καιρὸν τέκνων γίνονται πατέρες οἱ ἄνθρωποι. ὁ δὲ θεὸς ἀμερὴς ὢν ἀμερίστως ἐστὶ καὶ ἀπαθὴς τοῦ υἱοῦ πατήρ. οὔτε γὰρ ἀπορροὴ τοῦ ἀσωμάτου ἔστιν οὔτ' ἐπιρροή τις εἰς αὐτὸν γίνεται ὡς ἐπ' ἀνθρώπων· ἁπλοῦς δὲ ὢν τὴν φύσιν ἑνὸς καὶ μόνου τοῦ υἱοῦ πατήρ ἐστι. διὰ τοῦτο γὰρ καὶ μονο γενής ἐστι καὶ μόνος ἐν τοῖς κόλποις τοῦ πατρός ἐστι, μόνον τε αὐτὸν ἐξ ἑαυτοῦ δείκνυσιν ὁ πατὴρ λέγων· «οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ υἱός μου ὁ ἀγαπητός, ἐν ᾧ ηὐδόκησα»· λόγος δέ ἐστιν οὗτος τοῦ πατρός, ἐν ᾧ τὸ ἀπαθὲς καὶ ἀμερὲς τοῦ πατρὸς νοεῖν δυνατόν. λόγος γὰρ οὐδὲ ὁ τῶν ἀνθρώπων κατὰ πάθος καὶ μέρος γεννᾶται, μήτι γε ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ. διὸ καὶ καθέζεται μὲν αὐτὸς ἐν δεξιᾷ τοῦ πατρὸς ὡς λόγος· ἔνθα γάρ ἐστιν ὁ πατήρ, ἐκεῖ καὶ ὁ τούτου λόγος ἐστίν· ἡμεῖς δὲ στήκομεν κρινόμενοι παρ' αὐτοῦ ὡς ποιήματα. καὶ προσ κυνεῖται μὲν αὐτὸς διὰ τὸ εἶναι αὐτὸν υἱὸν τοῦ προσκυνητοῦ πατρός, ἡμεῖς δὲ προσκυ νοῦμεν κύριον καὶ θεὸν αὐτὸν ὁμολογοῦντες διὰ τὸ εἶναι ἡμᾶς κτίσματα καὶ ἄλλους παρ' ἐκεῖνον. Τούτων δὲ οὕτως ὄντων σκοπείτω λοιπὸν ὁ βουλόμενος αὐτῶν καὶ γενέσθω τις αὐτοὺς ἐντρέπων, εἰ τὸ ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ ἴδιον αὐτοῦ γέννημα θέμις εἰπεῖν ἐξ οὐκ ὄντων ἢ λόγον ἔχει κἂν εἰς ἐνθύμησίν τινος ὅλως ἐλθεῖν, ὅτι τὸ ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐπισυμβέβηκεν αὐτῷ, ἵνα καὶ τολμήσας εἴπῃ, ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ἀεὶ ὁ υἱός. καὶ γὰρ ἐν τούτῳ πάλιν τὰς ἀνθρώπων ἐννοίας ὑπερεξῆλθε καὶ ὑπεραναβέβηκεν ἡ τοῦ υἱοῦ γέννησις. ἡμεῖς μὲν γὰρ τῶν ἰδίων τέκνων ἐν χρόνῳ γινόμεθα πατέρες, ἐπεὶ καὶ αὐτοὶ οὐκ ὄντες πρότερον ὕστερον γεγόναμεν· ὁ δὲ θεὸς ἀεὶ ὢν ἀεὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ πατήρ ἐστι. καὶ τῶν μὲν ἡ γένεσις ἐκ τῶν ὁμοίως ὄντων ἔχει τὴν πίστιν. ἐπειδὴ δὲ «οὐδεὶς οἶδε τὸν υἱὸν εἰ μὴ ὁ πατήρ, οὐδὲ τὸν πατέρα τις ἐπι γινώσκει εἰ μὴ ὁ υἱός, καὶ ᾧ ἂν ὁ υἱὸς ἀποκαλύψῃ», διὰ τοῦτο οἱ ἅγιοι, οἷς ἀπεκάλυψεν ὁ υἱός, εἰκόνα τινὰ δεδώκασιν ἡμῖν ἐκ τῶν ὁρωμένων λέγοντες· «ὃς ὢν ἀπαύγασμα τῆς δόξης καὶ χαρακτὴρ τῆς ὑποστάσεως αὐτοῦ»· καὶ πάλιν· «ὅτι παρὰ σοὶ πηγὴ ζωῆς, ἐν τῷ φωτί σου ὀψόμεθα φῶς»· ὅτε καὶ μεμφόμενος τὸν Ἰσραὴλ ὁ λόγος φησίν· «ἐγκατέλιπες τὴν πηγὴν τῆς σοφίας»· αὕτη δέ ἐστιν ἡ πηγὴ ἡ λέγουσα· «ἐμὲ ἐγκατ έλιπον πηγὴν ὕδατος ζῶντος». καὶ μικρὸν μέν ἐστι τὸ παράδειγμα καὶ λίαν ἀμυδρὸν πρὸς τὸ ποθούμενον, δυνατὸν δὲ ὅμως ἐξ αὐτοῦ πλέον τῆς ἀνθρώπου φύσεως κατα νοεῖν καὶ μὴ νομίζειν ἴσην τὴν ἡμῶν εἶναι καὶ τὴν τοῦ υἱοῦ γέννησιν. τίς γὰρ δύνα ται κἂν λογίσασθαι μὴ εἶναί ποτε τὸ ἀπαύγασμα, ἵνα καὶ τολμήσας εἴπῃ μὴ εἶναι ἀεὶ τὸν υἱόν, ἢ ὅτι οὐκ ἦν ὁ υἱὸς πρὶν γεννηθῇ; ἢ τίς ἱκανὸς διελεῖν ἀπὸ τοῦ ἡλίου τὸ ἀπαύ γασμα ἢ τὴν πηγὴν ἐπινοῆσαί ποτε τῆς ζωῆς ἔρημον, ἵνα καὶ μανεὶς εἴπῃ, ἐξ οὐκ ὄντων ἐστὶν ὁ υἱὸς ὁ λέγων· «ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ζωή», ἢ ἀλλότριος τῆς τοῦ πατρὸς οὐσίας ὁ λέγων· «ὁ ἐμὲ ἑωρακὼς ἑώρακε τὸν πατέρα»; οὕτω γὰρ ἡμᾶς οἱ ἅγιοι βουλόμενοι νοεῖν τοιαῦτα καὶ παραδείγματα δεδώκασι, καὶ ἔστιν ἄτοπον καὶ λίαν ἀσεβὲς τοιαύτας ἐχούσης τῆς γραφῆς τὰς εἰκόνας ἐξ ἄλλων ἡμᾶς περὶ τοῦ κυρίου διανοεῖσθαι τῶν μήτε γεγραμμένων μήτε τινὰ διάνοιαν εἰς εὐσέβειαν ἐχόντων. Οὐκοῦν λοιπὸν λεγέτωσαν, πόθεν ἄρα καὶ οὗτοι μαθόντες ἢ τίνος αὐτοῖς παρα δεδωκότος τοιαῦτα περὶ τοῦ σωτῆρος ὑπονοεῖν ἤρξαντο. ἀνέγνωμεν, φήσουσιν, ἐν ταῖς Παροιμίαις· «κύριος ἔκτισέ με ἀρχὴν ὁδῶν αὐτοῦ εἰς ἔργα αὐτοῦ». καὶ γὰρ καὶ οἱ περὶ Εὐσέβιον τοῦτο λέγειν ἐδόκουν, καὶ σὺ δὲ γράφων ἐδήλωσας, ὅτι διὰ πολλῶν μὲν ἀποδείξεων ἀνατρεπόμενοι καὶ οὗτοι κατεγινώσκοντο, τοῦτο δὲ ὅμως αὐτοὶ τὸ ῥητὸν ἄνω καὶ κάτω περιφέροντες ἓν τῶν κτισμάτων τὸν υἱὸν εἶναι ἔλεγον καὶ τοῖς γενητοῖς αὐτὸν συνηρίθμουν. ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦτο δοκοῦσί μοι μὴ νενοηκέναι καλῶς· ἔχει γὰρ τὴν διάνοιαν εὐσεβῆ καὶ λίαν ὀρθήν, ἣν εἰ καὶ αὐτοὶ νενοήκεισαν, οὐκ ἂν τὸν κύριον τῆς δόξης ἐβλασφήμησαν. τὰ γὰρ προειρημένα εἰς τὸ ῥητὸν τοῦτο συμβαλλέτωσαν, καὶ ὄψονται πολλὴν ἐν αὐτοῖς οὖσαν τὴν διαφοράν. τίς γὰρ οὐ συνορᾷ διάνοιαν ἔχων ὀρθήν, ὅτι τὰ μὲν κτιζόμενα καὶ ποιούμενα ἔξωθεν τοῦ ποιοῦντος, ὁ δὲ υἱός, ὡς ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν ἔδειξεν ὁ λόγος, οὐκ ἔξωθεν ἀλλ' ἐκ τοῦ γεννῶντος πατρὸς ὑπάρχει; καὶ γὰρ ἄνθρωπος κτίζει μὲν οἰκίαν, γεννᾷ δὲ υἱόν, καὶ οὐκ ἄν τις ἀναστρέφων εἴποι τὴν μὲν οἰκίαν καὶ τὴν ναῦν γεννᾶσθαι παρὰ τοῦ κατασκευάζοντος, τὸν δὲ υἱὸν κτίζεσθαι καὶ ποιεῖσθαι παρὰ τοῦ αὐτοῦ, οὐδὲ πάλιν τὴν μὲν οἰκίαν εἰκόνα τοῦ κτίζοντος, τὸν δὲ υἱὸν ἀνόμοιον τοῦ γεννῶντος. ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον τὸν μὲν υἱὸν εἰκόνα τοῦ πατρὸς ὁμολογήσει, τὴν δὲ οἰκίαν τέχνης εἶναι δημιούργημα, εἰ μή τις ἄρα τὴν διάνοιαν νοσοίη καὶ τὰς φρένας παρεξεστη κὼς τυγχάνοι. ἀμέλει πάντων μᾶλλον ἡ θεία γραφὴ γινώσκουσα τὴν ἑκάστου φύσιν περὶ μὲν τῶν κτιζομένων διὰ Μωυσέος φησίν· «ἐν ἀρχῇ ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν»· περὶ δὲ τοῦ υἱοῦ οὐχ ἕτερον, ἀλλ' αὐτὸν τὸν πατέρα σημαίνει λέγοντα· «ἐκ γαστρὸς πρὸ ἑωσφόρου ἐγέννησά σε»· καὶ πάλιν· «υἱός μου εἶ σύ, ἐγὼ σήμερον γεγέννηκά σε»· αὐτός τε περὶ ἑαυτοῦ ὁ κύριος ἐν Παροιμίαις λέγει· «πρὸ δὲ πάντων βουνῶν γεννᾷ με»· καὶ περὶ μὲν τῶν γενητῶν καὶ κτιστῶν ὁ Ἰωάννης φησί· «πάντα δι' αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο»· περὶ δὲ τοῦ κυρίου εὐαγγελιζόμενος λέγει· «ὁ μονογενὴς υἱός, ὁ ὢν εἰς τὸν κόλπον τοῦ πατρός, ἐκεῖνος ἐξηγήσατο». εἰ τοίνυν υἱός, οὐ κτίσμα, εἰ δὲ κτίσμα, οὐχ υἱός· πολλὴ γὰρ ἐν αὐτοῖς ἡ διαφορά. καὶ οὐκ ἂν εἴη αὐτὸς υἱὸς καὶ κτίσμα, ἵνα μὴ καὶ ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ ἔξωθεν τοῦ θεοῦ ἡ οὐσία αὐτοῦ νομίζηται. Ἆρ' οὖν μάτην γέγραπται τοῦτο τὸ ῥητόν; τοῦτο γὰρ πάλιν ἐκεῖνοι περιβομ βοῦσιν ὡς ἀγέλη κωνώπων. οὐχί γε, οὐ μάτην γέγραπται, ἀλλὰ καὶ μάλα ἀναγκαίως. καὶ γὰρ καὶ κτίζεσθαι λέγεται, ἀλλ' ὅτε γέγονεν ἄνθρωπος· ἀνθρώπου γὰρ ἴδιον τοῦτο. τὴν δὲ διάνοιαν ταύτην εὑρήσει καλῶς ἐν τοῖς λογίοις κειμένην ὁ μὴ πάρεργον ἡγούμενος τὴν ἀνάγνωσιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν καιρὸν καὶ τὰ πρόσωπα καὶ τὴν χρείαν τῶν γεγραμμένων ἐρευνῶν καὶ οὕτω τὰ ἀναγνώσματα διακρίνων καὶ διανοούμενος. τὸν μὲν οὖν καιρὸν τοῦ ῥητοῦ τούτου εὑρήσει καὶ γνώσεται, ὅτι ἀεὶ ὢν ὁ κύριος ὕστερον ἐπὶ συντελείᾳ τῶν αἰώνων γέγονεν ἄνθρωπος, καὶ υἱὸς ὢν τοῦ θεοῦ γέγονε καὶ υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου. τὴν δὲ χρείαν νοήσειεν, ὅτι τὸν ἡμῶν θάνατον καταργῆσαι θέλων ἔλαβεν ἑαυτῷ σῶμα ἐκ τῆς παρθένου Μαρίας, ἵνα τοῦτο προσενέγκας θυσίαν ὑπὲρ πάντων τῷ πατρὶ «ἀπαλλάξῃ πάν τας ἡμᾶς, ὅσοι φόβῳ θανάτου διὰ παντὸς τοῦ ζῆν ἔνοχοι ἦμεν δουλείας». τὸ δὲ πρόσωπον τοῦ μὲν σωτῆρός ἐστι, τότε δὲ λέγεται, ὅτε λοιπὸν λαβὼν τὸ σῶμα λέγει· «κύριος ἔκ τισέ με ἀρχὴν ὁδῶν αὐτοῦ εἰς ἔργα αὐτοῦ». ὡς γὰρ υἱῷ θεοῦ ὄντι ἁρμόζει καλῶς τὸ ἀιδίως εἶναι καὶ ἐν κόλποις εἶναι τοῦ πατρός, οὕτως καὶ ἀνθρώπῳ γενομένῳ πρέ πουσα φωνὴ τὸ κύριος ἔκτισέ με. τότε γὰρ λέγεται περὶ αὐτοῦ· καὶ ἐπείνασε, καὶ ἐδίψησε, καὶ ἐπυνθάνετο ποῦ Λάζαρος κεῖται, καὶ πέπονθε, καὶ ἀνέστη. καὶ ὥσπερ ἀκούοντες αὐτὸν κύριον καὶ θεὸν καὶ φῶς ἀληθινὸν νοοῦμεν αὐτὸν ὄντα ἐκ τοῦ πατρός, οὕτως δίκαιόν ἐστιν ἀκούοντας τὸ ἔκτισε καὶ τὸ δοῦλος καὶ τὸ πέπονθε μὴ τῇ θεότητι λογίζεσθαι, ἀνοί κειον γάρ, ἀλλὰ τῇ σαρκὶ ταῦτα μετρεῖν, ἣν δι' ἡμᾶς ἐφόρεσε. ταύτης γὰρ ἴδια ταῦτα, καὶ αὐτὴ ἡ σὰρξ οὐχ ἑτέρου, ἀλλὰ τοῦ λόγου ἐστίν. εἰ δὲ καὶ τὸ ἐκ τούτου χρήσιμον ἐθέλοι τις μαθεῖν, εὑρήσει καὶ τοῦτο· «ὁ γὰρ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο», ἵνα καὶ προσενέγκῃ τοῦτο ὑπὲρ πάντων καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐκ τοῦ πνεύματος αὐτοῦ μεταλαβόντες θεοποιηθῆναι δυνη θῶμεν ἄλλως οὐκ ἂν τούτου τυχόντες, εἰ μὴ τὸ κτιστὸν ἡμῶν αὐτὸς ἐνεδύσατο σῶμα· οὕτω γὰρ καὶ ἄνθρωποι θεοῦ λοιπὸν καὶ ἐν Χριστῷ ἄνθρωποι χρηματίζειν ἠρξάμεθα. ἀλλ' ὥσπερ ἡμεῖς τὸ πνεῦμα λαμβάνοντες οὐκ ἀπόλλυμεν τὴν ἰδίαν ἑαυτῶν οὐσίαν, οὕτως ὁ κύριος γενόμενος δι' ἡμᾶς ἄνθρωπος καὶ σῶμα φορέσας οὐδὲν ἧττον ἦν θεός· οὐ γὰρ ἠλαττοῦτο τῇ περιβολῇ τοῦ σώματος, ἀλλὰ καὶ μᾶλλον ἐθεοποιεῖτο τοῦτο καὶ ἀθάνατον ἀπετέλει.