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Since he has come down, these things were said, we might have said that the saying was shaped by the man, not the one understood according to the Savior, —for his will is in no way opposed to God, being entirely from God—but according to us; as the human will does not in every way follow the divine, but opposes it, for the most part, and struggles against it. For we also understood that in this way: Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not what I will, but let your will prevail. For it is not likely that he was ignorant of whether this was possible or not, nor that he set will against will. But since the saying is as from the one who assumed—for this is the one who came down—not from what was assumed, we will answer in this way. Not as if the Son has a will of his own besides the Father’s, but as if he does not; so that the conclusion may be this: Not that I should do my will, for my will is not separate from yours, but the will common to me and to you, of whom, as the Godhead is one, so also is the will. For many things thus spoken are spoken in a common sense, and not affirmatively, but negatively, as in this: For God does not give the Spirit by measure; for he neither gives, nor is it measured, for God is not measured by God; and this: Neither my sin, nor my iniquity; for the saying is not as if it existed, but as if it did not; and again this: Not for our righteousnesses, which we have done; for we have not done them. And this is clear even from what follows; for what, he says, is the will of the Father? That everyone who believes in the Son may be saved, and attain the final resurrection. Is this then the will of the Father, but in no way of the Son? Or does he preach the gospel and is he believed in unwillingly? And who would believe this? Since also the saying that the word which is heard is not of the Son, but of the Father, has the same force. For how that which is common can be the property of one, or of one only, this I cannot understand, though I consider it much; and I think, no one else can either. If you think thus about the will, you will think correctly and very piously, as my argument does, and as every sensible person does. 13 Their eighth point is this: That they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent; and this: No one is good, except one, God. And this seems to me to have a very easy solution in every way. For if you apply ‘only true’ to the Father, where will you place Truth itself? For if To the only wise God, or To him who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, or to the King of the ages, incorruptible, invisible, and to the only wise God you understand thus, the Son will be gone for you, condemned to death, or darkness, or not being wise, nor king, nor invisible, nor God at all, which is the main point of what has been said. How then will he not lose, along with the others, also his goodness, which belongs especially to God alone? But I think the one: That they may know you, the only true God, is said for the rejection of those who are not gods but are called so. For it would not have added: And Jesus Christ whom you have sent, if ‘only true’ was set in contrast to him, and not spoken of the Godhead in common. And the other, No one is good, has an answer for the lawyer who was tempting him, as having testified to his goodness as to a man. For the supremely good, he says, belongs to God alone, even if a man is also called this, as in: The good man out of the good treasure brings forth that which is good; and, I will give the kingdom to the one better than you, which God says to Saul concerning David; and this: Do good, O Lord, to the good; and whatever other such things are said about those among us who are praised, to whom the emanation of the first good has reached in a secondary sense. If then we persuade you of this, excellent; but if not, what will you say to those who say elsewhere that the Son alone has been called God according to your own hypotheses? In what words? In those: This is your God, no other shall be accounted of in comparison with him; and a little after: After this he was seen upon earth, and conversed with men. For that what is said is not about the Father but the Son, the addition clearly shows. For this is he who conversed with us in the body, and was among those below. But if he should prevail

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κατεληλυθότος αὐτοῦ ταῦτα ἐλέγετο, εἴπομεν ἂν ὡς παρὰ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου τυποῦσθαι τὸν λόγον, οὐ τοῦ κατὰ τὸν σωτῆρα νοουμένου, -τὸ γὰρ ἐκείνου θέλειν οὐδὲ ὑπεναντίον θεῷ, θεοθὲν ὅλον, -ἀλλὰ τοῦ καθ' ἡμᾶς· ὡς τοῦ ἀνθρωπίνου θελήματος οὐ πάντως ἑπομένου τῷ θείῳ, ἀλλ' ἀντιπίπτοντος, ὡς τὰ πολλά, καὶ ἀντιπαλαίοντος. καὶ γὰρ ἐκεῖνο οὕτως ἐνοήσαμεν τό· Πάτερ, εἰ δυνατόν, παρελθέτω ἀπ' ἐμοῦ τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο· πλὴν οὐχ ὃ ἐγὼ θέλω, ἀλλὰ τὸ σὸν ἰσχυέτω θέλημα. οὔτε γάρ, εἰ δυνατὸν ἢ μή, τοῦτο ἀγνοεῖν ἐκεῖνον εἰκός, οὔτε τῷ θελήματι ἀντεισφέρειν τὸ θέλημα. ἐπεὶ δὲ ὡς παρὰ τοῦ προσλαβόντος ὁ λόγος, τοῦτο γὰρ τὸ κατεληλυθός, οὐ τοῦ προσλήμματος, οὕτως ἀπαντησόμεθα. οὐχ ὡς ὄντος ἰδίου τοῦ υἱοῦ θελήματος παρὰ τὸ τοῦ πατρός, ἀλλ' ὡς οὐκ ὄντος ὁ λόγος· ἵν' ᾖ τοιοῦτον τὸ συναγόμενον· Οὐχ ἵνα ποιῶ τὸ θέλημα τὸ ἐμόν, οὐδὲ γάρ ἐστι τὸ ἐμὸν τοῦ σοῦ κεχωρισ μένον, ἀλλὰ τὸ κοινὸν ἐμοῦ τε καὶ σοῦ, ὧν ὡς μία θεότης, οὕτω καὶ βούλησις. πολλὰ γὰρ τῶν οὕτω λεγομένων ἀπὸ κοινοῦ λέγεται, καὶ οὐ θετικῶς, ἀρνητικῶς δέ, ὡς τό· Οὐ γὰρ ἐκ μέτρου δίδωσιν ὁ θεὸς τὸ πνεῦμα· οὔτε γὰρ δίδωσιν, οὔτε μεμετρημένον, οὐ γὰρ μετρεῖται παρὰ θεοῦ θεός· καὶ τό· Οὔτε ἡ ἁμαρτία μου, οὔτε ἡ ἀνομία μου· οὐ γὰρ ὡς οὔσης ὁ λόγος, ἀλλ' ὡς οὐκ οὔσης· καὶ πάλιν τό· Οὐ διὰ τὰς δικαιοσύνας ἡμῶν, ἃς ἐποιήσαμεν· οὐ γὰρ ἐποιήσαμεν. δῆλον δὲ τοῦτο κἂν τοῖς ἑξῆς· τί γάρ, φησι, τὸ θέλημα τοῦ πατρός; ἵνα πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων εἰς τὸν υἱὸν σώζηται, καὶ τυγχάνῃ τῆς τελευταίας ἀναστάσεως. ἆρ' οὖν τοῦ πατρὸς μὲν τοῦτο θέλημα, τοῦ υἱοῦ δὲ οὐδαμῶς; ἢ ἄκων εὐαγγελίζεται καὶ πιστεύεται; καὶ τίς ἂν τοῦτο πιστεύσειεν; ἐπεὶ καὶ τὸ τὸν λόγον τὸν ἀκουόμενον μὴ εἶναι τοῦ υἱοῦ, τοῦ πατρὸς δέ, τὴν αὐτὴν ἔχει δύναμιν. πῶς γὰρ ἴδιόν τινος τὸ κοινόν, ἢ μόνου, τοῦτο συνιδεῖν οὐκ ἔχω, πολλὰ σκοπῶν· οἶμαι δέ, οὐδὲ ἄλλος τις. ἂν οὕτω διανοῇς περὶ τοῦ θέλειν, ὀρθῶς νοήσεις καὶ λίαν εὐσεβῶς, ὡς ὁ ἐμὸς λόγος, καὶ παντὸς τοῦ εὐγνώμονος. 13 Ὄγδοόν ἐστιν αὐτοῖς τό· Ἵνα γινώσκωσι σὲ τὸν μόνον ἀληθινὸν θεὸν καὶ ὃν ἀπέστειλας Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν· καὶ τό· Οὐδεὶς ἀγαθός, εἰ μὴ εἶς ὁ θεός. τοῦτο δὲ καὶ πάντῃ ῥᾴστην ἔχειν τὴν λύσιν μοι φαίνεται. εἰ γὰρ τὸ μόνον ἀληθινὸν ἐπὶ τοῦ πατρὸς θήσεις, ποῦ θήσεις τὴν αὐτοαλήθειαν; καὶ γὰρ εἰ Τῷ μόνῳ σοφῷ θεῷ, ἢ Τῷ μόνῳ ἔχοντι ἀθανασίαν, φῶς οἰκοῦντι ἀπρόσιτον, ἢ Βασιλεῖ τῶν αἰώνων ἀφθάρτῳ, ἀοράτῳ, Καὶ μόνῳ σοφῷ θεῷ νοήσεις οὕτως, οἰχήσεταί σοι θάνατον κατακριθεὶς ὁ υἱός, ἢ σκότος, ἢ τὸ μὴ σοφὸς εἶναι, μηδὲ βασιλεύς, μηδὲ ἀόρατος, μηδὲ ὅλως θεός, ὃ τῶν εἰρημένων κεφάλαιον. πῶς δαὶ οὐκ ἀπολεῖ μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων καὶ τὴν ἀγαθότητα, ἢ μάλιστα μόνου θεοῦ; ἀλλ' οἶμαι τὸ μέν· Ἵνα γινώσ κωσι σὲ τὸν μόνον ἀληθινὸν θεόν, ἐπ' ἀναιρέσει λέγεσθαι τῶν οὐκ ὄντων μὲν θεῶν, λεγομένων δέ. οὐ γὰρ ἂν προσέκειτο· Καὶ ὃν ἀπέστειλας Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν, εἰ πρὸς ἐκεῖνον ἀντιδιῄρητο τὸ μόνον ἀληθινόν, ἀλλὰ μὴ κατὰ κοινοῦ τῆς θεότητος ἦν ὁ λόγος. τὸ δέ, Οὐδεὶς ἀγαθός, ἀπάντησιν ἔχει πρὸς τὸν πειράζοντα νομικόν, ὡς ἀνθρώπῳ τὴν ἀγαθότητα μαρτυρήσαντα. τὸ γὰρ ἄκρως ἀγαθόν, φησι, μόνου θεοῦ, κἂν τοῦτο καὶ ἄνθρωπος ὀνομάζηται, ὡς τό· Ὁ ἀγαθὸς ἄνθρωπος ἐκ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ θησαυροῦ προβάλλει τὸ ἀγαθόν· καί, ∆ώσω τὴν βασιλείαν τῷ ἀγαθῷ ὑπὲρ σέ, τοῦ θεοῦ πρὸς τὸν Σαοὺλ περὶ τοῦ ∆αβὶδ λέγοντος· καὶ τό· Ἀγάθυνον, κύριε, τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς· καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα τοιαῦτα λέγεται περὶ τῶν ἐν ἡμῖν ἐπαινουμένων, ἐφ' οὓς ἡ ἀπόρροια τοῦ πρώτου καλοῦ καὶ κατὰ δεύτερον λόγον ἔφθασεν. εἰ μὲν οὖν πείθομεν τοῦτο, ἄριστον· εἰ δὲ μή, τί φήσεις πρὸς τοὺς λέγοντας ἑτέρωθι, τὸν υἱὸν μόνον εἰρῆσθαι θεὸν κατὰ τὰς σὰς ὑποθέσεις; ἐν τίσι τοῖς ῥήμασιν; ἐν ἐκείνοις· Οὗτός σου θεός, οὐ λογισθήσεται ἕτερος πρὸς αὐτόν· καὶ μετ' ὀλίγα· Μετὰ τοῦτο ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ὤφθη, καὶ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις συνανεστράφη. ὅτι μὲν γὰρ οὐ περὶ τοῦ πατρὸς ἀλλὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ τὸ λεγόμενον, ἡ προσθήκη σαφῶς παρίστησιν. οὗτος γάρ ἐστιν ὁ σωματικῶς ὁμιλήσας ἡμῖν, καὶ μετὰ τῶν κάτω γενόμενος. εἰ δὲ νικήσειε