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managing our discourse with discernment, for the present we decline this as well; for things that are always, as has been said, united and always existing in the same way cannot be causes of one another. Do not then conceive that the Father ever pre-existed the Son and you will call Him neither first nor greater than the Son; for that which pre-existed would be called first in relation to that which was begotten or proceeded or was made from it, but He who neither pre-exists, nor was ever born or became first before the co-eternal and co-unoriginate Son, but being whole in the whole Son of equal honor, just as the Son is also in the whole consubstantial Father, how will He be called first before the co-eternal? If you say the Father is the cause of the Son, I say so too, unless you perhaps create the suspicion that God was once alone, when the Son was not, and that He begot Him later, becoming the cause of His existence, which leads you far from God and the truth, as one acting impiously, and makes you one with the impious who say the Son was made by the Father; for to conceive this alone is the height of all godlessness and impiety.

For we say the father is the cause of the son who is born in the case of physical birth; but in the case of the divine and unoriginated existence and unbegotten begetting and unsubstantiated substance and super-essential essentiality, or what else I should say I do not know, he who says first must of necessity also name a second and a third, which has no implication at all of being said in the all-holy Trinity. For to measure the immeasurable and to speak the unspeakable and to utter the unutterable is precarious and dangerous. Therefore, concerning the ineffable and divine generation of the Word of God, we do call the Father the cause of the Son, as mind is of word and a spring of a stream and a root of its branches, but by no means first, lest we multiply the number, dividing the indivisible and one divinity into three gods. For it is not possible to conceive or to say first, or second, or third, not greater, not lesser, (16) in the indivisible and unconfused Trinity; for in every way the things of the divine and super-essential nature are unutterable and ineffable and incomprehensible and inaccessible to the human mind. But if you wish also to exercise the argument in another way and to learn how incomprehensible is God who brought all things into being out of nothing, even if you should place the Spirit before the Son and the Father, if indeed it is permitted to theologize in this way, you will find in it the entire connaturality of the co-eternal as consubstantial. And see how incomprehensible are the things of the divine nature to us humans. "God," he says, "is Spirit," and again, "Now the Lord is the Spirit." If, then, God is Spirit and the Lord is the Spirit, where here is the Fatherhood and the Sonship, that you, O new theologian, should grant and say and number for me a first and a greater in the divine and incomprehensible nature.

John, theologizing, said, "In the beginning was the Word," and not the Father. But you, initiated into deeper things than this by Wisdom Himself, Jesus, grant to us and to the whole world the first in the Father, so that you might show the Son as second to Him, and in turn the Holy Spirit as third, preaching to us another gospel, as some other theologian deeper and more intimate with the Son of God than the former one? What blasphemy! How, tell me, you who craftily dogmatize tritheism to us, did the theological voice, he who rested on Christ's breast, not say, "In the beginning was the Father," but "In the beginning was the Word"? And why did he not say the Son, but the Word, except to teach us that neither was He known as Son by anyone before the God Word descended and was incarnate, nor was God known as Father? Not that the three-hypostases divinity which produced all things did not exist, but that the mystery of the economy had not yet been made known. For after the incarnation of God the Word, God was also made known to us believers as Father, (17) and the incarnate God the Word for our sake as Son of God, according to what was said by the Father from above; for He says, "This is my beloved Son; listen to Him." And the Son: "Righteous Father, the world has not known you, but I have known you" and again: "I have made your name known to men" and again: "Father, glorify your Son,

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λόγον οἰκονομοῦντες ἐν κρίσει, τό γε νῦν ἔχον καί αὐτό παραιτούμεθα· τά γάρ ἀεί, ὥσπερ εἴρηται, ἡνωμένα καί ἀεί ὡσαύτως ὄντα ἀλλήλων αἴτια εἶναι οὐ δύνανται. Μή δή ἐννοήσῃς προϋπάρξαι ποτέ τοῦ Υἱοῦ τόν Πατέρα καί οὔτε πρῶτον οὔτε μείζονα καλέσεις αὐτόν τοῦ Υἱοῦ· τό γάρ προϋπάρξαν πρῶτον ἄν κληθήσεται τοῦ ἐξ αὐτοῦ γεννηθέντος ἤ προελθόντος ἤ ποιηθέντος, ὁ δέ μήτε προών, μήτε ποτέ γεγονώς ἤ γενόμενος πρῶτος τοῦ συναϊδίου καί συνανάρχου Υἱοῦ, ἀλλ᾿ ὅλος ὤν ἐν ὅλῳ τῷ ὁμοτίμῳ Υἱῷ, ὡς καί ὁ Υἱός ἐν ὅλῳ τῷ ὁμοουσίῳ Πατρί, πῶς πρῶτος τοῦ συναϊδίου κληθήσεται; Εἰ δέ αἴτιον λέγεις τοῦ Υἱοῦ τόν Πατέρα, φημί κἀγώ, εἰ μή που ὑπόνοιαν ἐμποιεῖς ὅτι ἦν ποτε ὁ Θεός μόνος, ὅτε οὐκ ἦν Υἱός, καί ὅτι ἐγέννησεν αὐτόν ὕστερον αἴτιος γενόμενος τῆς αὐτοῦ ὑπάρξεως, ὅπερ σε πόρρω τοῦ Θεοῦ καί τῆς ἀληθείας ἀπάγει, ὡς ἀσεβοῦντα, καί μετά τῶν λεγόντων ἀσεβῶν τόν Υἱόν ὑπό τοῦ Πατρός γεγενῆσθαι ποιεῖ· τοῦτο γάρ καί τό μόνον ἐννοῆσαι πάσης ἀθεότητος καί ἀσεβείας ἐστίν.

Αἴτιον γάρ τοῦ γεννωμένου υἱοῦ τόν πατέρα εἶναι ἐπί τῆς σωματικῆς γεννήσεως λέγομεν· ἐπί δέ τῆς θείας καί ἀνυπάρκτου ὑπάρξεως καί ἀγεννήτου γεννήσεως καί ἀνυποστάτου ὑποστάσεως καί ὑπερουσίου οὐσιώσεως, ἤ τί ἕτερον εἴπω οὐκ οἶδα, ὁ πρῶτον λέγων ἀνάγκη καί δεύτερον ὀνομάσαι καί τρίτον, ὅπερ ἐν τῇ παναγίᾳ Τριάδι ἔμφασιν ὅλως οὐκ ἔχει λέγεσθαι. Τό γάρ μετρεῖν τά ἀμέτρητα καί τά ἄρρητα λέγειν καί τά ἄφθεγκτα φθέγγεσθαι ἐπισφαλές ὑπάρχει καί ἐπικίνδυνον. Τοιγαροῦν καί ἐπί τῆς ἀρρήτου καί θείας τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγου γεννήσεως αἴτιον μέν τοῦ Υἱοῦ λέγομεν τόν Πατέρα, ὡς νοῦν λόγου καί πηγήν ῥεύματος καί ῥίζαν τῶν κλάδων αὐτῆς, πρῶτον δέ οὐδαμῶς, ἵνα μή τόν ἀριθμόν πλεονάσωμεν, εἰς τρεῖς θεούς τήν ἀδιαίρετον καί μίαν θεότητα διαιροῦντες. Οὔτε γάρ πρῶτον, οὔτε δεύτερον, οὔτε τρίτον, οὐ μεῖζον, οὐκ ἔλασσον, (16) ἔστιν ἐννοῆσαι ἤ εἰπεῖν ἐν τῇ ἀδιαιρέτῳ καί ἀσυγχύτῳ Τριάδι· ἄφθεγκτα γάρ πάντῃ καί ἄρρητα καί ἀκατανόητα τά τῆς θείας καί ὑπερουσίου φύσεως καί ἀνθρωπίνῳ νοΐ ἀκατάληπτα. Εἰ βούλει δέ καί ἄλλως γυμνάσαι τόν λόγον καί μαθεῖν ὡς ἀκατάληπτός ἐστιν ὁ ἐκ τοῦ μή ὄντος τό πᾶν οὐσιώσας Θεός, κἄν τό Πνεῦμα προτάξῃς, εἴ γε καί οὕτως θεολογεῖν ἔξεστι, τοῦ Υἱοῦ καί τοῦ Πατρός, ὅλην ἐν αὐτῷ εὑρήσεις καί τῶν συναϊδίων ὡς ὁμοουσίων τήν συμφυΐαν. Καί ὅρα ὡς ἀκατάληπτα τά τῆς θείας φύσεως τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἡμῖν. "Πνεῦμα, φησίν, ὁ Θεός" καί πάλιν· "Τό δέ πνεῦμα ὁ Κύριός ἐστιν". Εἰ οὖν πνεῦμα "Θεός καί τό πνεῦμα ὁ Κύριός ἐστι, ποῦ ἡ πατρότης ἐνταῦθα καί ἡ υἱότης, ἵνα καί πρῶτον καί μεῖζόν μοι ἐν τῇ θείᾳ καί ἀκαταλήπτῳ φύσει, ὦ σύ, καινέ θεολόγε, διδῷς καί λέγῃς καί ἀριθμῇς.

Ἰωάννης "Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ Λόγος" ἔφη θεολογῶν, καί οὐχ ὁ Πατήρ. Σύ δέ, καί τούτου βαθύτερα ὑπό τῆς αὐτοσοφίας, Ἰησοῦ, μυσταγωγηθείς, δίδως ἡμῖν καί τῷ κόσμῳ παντί τό πρῶτον ἐν τῷ Πατρί, ἵνα καί δεύτερον τούτου τόν Υἱόν ἀποδείξῃς καί τρίτον αὖθις τό Πνεῦμα τό Ἅγιον, κηρύσσων ἡμῖν ὡς ἄλλος τις θεολόγος τοῦ πρώην βαθύτερός τε καί τῷ Υἱῷ τοῦ Θεοῦ οἰκειότερος ἕτερον εὐαγγέλιον; Τῆς βλασφημίας! Πῶς, εἰπέ, ὁ τήν τριθεΐαν ἡμῖν δογματίζων ὑπούλως, οὐκ εἶπεν ἡ θεολόγος φωνή, ὁ ἐπιστήθιος τοῦ Χριστοῦ· "Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ Πατήρ", ἀλλ᾿ "Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ Λόγος"; ∆ιά τί δέ οὐκ εἶπεν ὁ Υἱός, ἀλλ᾿ ὁ Λόγος, ἤ ἵνα διδάξῃ ἡμᾶς ὅτι οὔτε Υἱός ἀπό τινος ἐγνωρίζετο πρό τοῦ κατελθεῖν καί σαρκωθῆναι τόν Θεόν Λόγον, οὔτε Πατήρ ὁ Θεός; Οὐχ ὅτι οὐκ ἦν ἡ τά πάντα παραγαγοῦσα τρισυπόστατος θεότης, ἀλλ᾿ ὅτι οὔπω ἦν γνωρισθέν τό τῆς οἰκονομίας μυστήριον. Μετά γάρ τήν ἐνανθρώπησιν τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγου καί Πατήρ ὁ Θεός καί Πατήρ ἐγνωρίσθη ἡμῖν τοῖς πιστοῖς (17) καί Υἱός Θεοῦ ὁ σαρκωθείς δι᾿ ἡμᾶς Θεός Λόγος κατά τό ὑπό τοῦ Πατρός ἄνωθεν εἰρημένον· φησί γάρ· "Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ Υἱός μου ὁ ἀγαπητός· αὐτοῦ ἀκούετε". Καί ὁ Υἱός· "Πάτερ δίκαιε, καί ὁ κόσμος σε οὐκ ἔγνω, ἐγώ δέ σε ἔγνων" καί αὖθις· "Ἐγνώρισά σου τό ὄνομα τοῖς ἀνθρώποις" καί πάλιν· "Πάτερ, δόξασόν σου τόν Υἱόν,