Rightly the Father with wisdom and power through the Word doing all things. 61 For just as all things that have come into being have come into being from the Father through the Word, so also the things said by the Father are signified through the Word. For for this reason the most holy Moses here calls the Word an angel, because he appeared for no other reason than to announce to Moses these things which he knew to be profitable for the sons of Israel; and he knew it was profitable to believe that there is one God. Therefore he also said to him, "I am who am," so that he might teach that there is no other God besides himself. This, I think, is easy for those who are right-minded to understand, even from a small and humble human example. For it is not possible for anyone to separate a man's word in power and hypostasis; for the word is one and the same with the man, and is separated by nothing else than only by the energy of the action. 62 Here, "I am who am" the Father says to Moses, but he says it, clearly, through the Word. For all things whatsoever the Father says, he is seen everywhere to say these things through the Word. And this is clear also from our own selves, to compare small things to great and divine ones: for we too do all things that we wish to say and do, as far as possible, by our word. 63 Who, then, does Asterius think is the one saying "I am who am," the Son or the Father? For he said there are two hypostases, of the Father and of the Son, looking to the human flesh which the Word of God assumed and, through it, imagining thus, thus separating the Son of God from the Father, just as one might separate a son of man from his natural father. 64 If, then, he shall say that the Father, separating himself from the Son, said these things to Moses, he will confess that the Son is not God. For how is it possible for the one who says "I am who am" not to confess that he who is says he is himself in distinction from that which is not? But if he were to say that the Son, divided in hypostasis, says this, "I am who am," he will be thought to be saying the same thing again about the Father. Each of these is impious. 65 I shall begin, then, from the letter written by him, to speak against each of the things that were not correctly written. He has written that he believes in God the Father almighty, and in his only-begotten Son, God, our Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Spirit; and he says that he has learned this way of piety from the divine scriptures. And I, when he says this, very much accept what is said, for this is the common way of piety for us all, to believe in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit; but when, not having considered the divine power, he speaks to us in a more human way through some artful theory of the Father as father and the Son as son, it is no longer safe to praise such a theory. For through such a theory, the heresy now devised by them happens to grow, which I think is easy to show clearly from his own words. For he said that one must consider the Father to be truly father, and the Son truly son, and the Holy Spirit likewise. 66 For it is impossible for three existing hypostases to be united in a monad, unless the triad first has its origin from a monad. For the holy Paul said that those things are summed up in a monad which in unity differ in nothing from God; for the Word and the Spirit alone differ from God with respect to unity. 67 If, then, the Word is seen to have come forth from the Father himself and to have come to us, and the Holy Spirit, as Asterius also confessed, proceeds from the Father, and again the Savior says concerning the Spirit that "He will not speak from himself, but whatever he will hear he will speak, and he will announce to you the things to come. He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and will announce it to you," is not the monad here clearly and manifestly seen, by an ineffable reason, while being extended into a triad, yet in no way enduring to be divided? For if the Word proceeds from the Father, and the Spirit itself is also confessed to proceed from the Father, and the Savior again says concerning the Spirit, "He will take from what is mine and will announce it to you," is it not then manifest that what is hidden

εἰκότως ὁ πατὴρ μετὰ σοφίας καὶ δυνάμεως διὰ τοῦ λόγου πάντα ποιῶν. 61 ὥσπερ γὰρ τὰ γεγονότα πάντα ὑπὸ τοῦ πατρὸς διὰ τοῦ λόγου γέγονεν, οὕτω καὶ τὰ λεγόμενα ὑπὸ τοῦ πατρὸς διὰ τοῦ λόγου σημαίνεται. διὰ τοῦτο γὰρ καὶ ὁ ἁγιώτατος Μωσῆς ἄγγελον ἐνταῦθα ὀνομάζει τὸν λόγον, ὅτι δι' οὐδὲν ἕτερον ἐφάνη, ἀλλ' ἵνα ἀναγγείλῃ τῷ Μωσεῖ ταῦτα ἅπερ λυσιτελεῖν τοῖς υἱοῖς Ἰσραὴλ ἠπίστατο· ἠπίστατο δὲ λυσιτελεῖν ἕνα θεὸν εἶναι νομίζειν. διὸ καὶ πρὸς αὐτὸν "ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὢν" ἔφη, ἵνα μηδένα ἐκτὸς ἑαυτοῦ ἕτερον θεὸν εἶναι διδάξῃ. τοῦτο δὲ ῥᾴδιον, οἶμαι, τοῖς εὖ φρονοῦσιν καὶ ἀπὸ μικροῦ τινος καὶ ταπεινοῦ καθ' ἡμᾶς παραδείγματος γνῶναι. οὐδὲ γὰρ τὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου λόγον δυνάμει καὶ ὑποστάσει χωρίσαι τινὶ δυνατόν· ἓν γάρ ἐστιν καὶ ταὐτὸν τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ ὁ λόγος, καὶ οὐδενὶ χωριζόμενος ἑτέρῳ ἢ μόνῃ τῇ τῆς πράξεως ἐνεργείᾳ. 62 ἐνταῦθα "ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὢν" λέγει μὲν τῷ Μωσεῖ ὁ πατήρ, λέγει δὲ δηλονότι διὰ τοῦ λόγου. πάντα γὰρ ὅσα ἂν ὁ πατὴρ λέγῃ, ταῦτα πανταχοῦ διὰ τοῦ λόγου λέγων φαίνεται. τοῦτο δὲ δῆλόν ἐστιν καὶ ἀφ' ἡμῶν αὐτῶν, ὅσα μικρὰ τοῖς μεγάλοις καὶ θείοις ἀπεικάσαι· καὶ ἡμεῖς γὰρ πάντα ὅσα ἂν θέλωμεν κατὰ τὸ δυνατὸν λέγειν τε καὶ ποιεῖν τῷ ἡμετέρῳ ποιοῦμεν λόγῳ. 63 τίνα τοίνυν τὸν "ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὢν" λέγοντα Ἀστέριος εἶναι οἴεται, τὸν υἱὸν ἢ τὸν πατέρα; δύο γὰρ ὑποστάσεις, εἰς τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην ἣν ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ λόγος ἀνείληφεν σάρκα ἀφορῶν καὶ δι' αὐτὴν οὕτω φανταζόμενος, πατρός τε καὶ υἱοῦ ἔφησεν εἶναι, οὕτω τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ χωρίζων τοῦ πατρός, ὡς καὶ υἱὸν ἀνθρώπου χωρίσειεν ἄν τις τοῦ κατὰ φύσιν πατρός. 64 εἰ τοίνυν τὸν πατέρα χωρίζοντα ἑαυτὸν τοῦ υἱοῦ πρὸς τὸν Μωσέα ταῦτ' εἰρηκέναι φήσει, οὐκ εἶναι τὸν υἱὸν θεὸν ὁμολογήσει. πῶς γὰρ ἐγχωρεῖ τὸν λέγοντα "ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὢν" μὴ συνομολογεῖν ὅτι κατὰ ἀντιδιαστολὴν τοῦ μὴ ὄντος ὁ ὢν ἑαυτὸν εἶναί φησιν; εἰ δὲ τὸν υἱὸν ὑποστάσει διῃρημένον τοῦτο φάσκοι λέγειν τὸ "ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὤν", ταὐτὸν αὖθις περὶ τοῦ πατρὸς λέγειν νομισθήσεται. ἑκάτερον δὲ τούτων ἀσεβές. 65 ἄρξομαι τοίνυν ἀπὸ τῆς ὑπ' αὐτοῦ γραφείσης ἐπιστολῆς πρὸς ἕκαστον τῶν μὴ ὀρθῶς γραφέντων ἀντιλέγειν. γέγραφεν πιστεύειν εἰς πατέρα θεὸν παντοκράτορα, καὶ εἰς τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ τὸν μονογενῆ θεόν, τὸν κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν, καὶ εἰς τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον· καί φησιν ἐκ τῶν θείων γραφῶν μεμαθηκέναι τοῦτον τὸν τῆς θεοσεβείας τρόπον. ἐγὼ δὲ ὅταν μὲν τοῦτο λέγῃ ἀποδέχομαι σφόδρα τὰ λεγόμενα, κοινὸς γὰρ οὗτος ἁπάντων ἡμῶν τῆς θεοσεβείας ὁ τρόπος, πιστεύειν εἰς πατέρα καὶ υἱὸν καὶ ἅγιον πνεῦμα· ὅταν δὲ μὴ τῆς θείας ἐστοχασμένος δυνάμεως ἀνθρωπικώτερον ἡμῖν διά τινος ἐντέχνου θεωρίας τόν τε πατέρα πατέρα λέγῃ καὶ τὸν υἱὸν υἱόν, οὐκέτ' ἐπαινεῖν τὴν τοιαύτην θεωρίαν ἀκίνδυνον. διὰ γὰρ τῆς τοιαύτης θεωρίας τὴν νῦν αὐτοῖς ἐπινοουμένην αἵρεσιν αὐξάνεσθαι συμβαίνει, ὅπερ σαφῶς ἐπιδεῖξαι ῥᾴδιον οἶμαι ἐκ τῶν αὐτοῦ λόγων. ἔφη γὰρ τὸν μὲν πατέρα δεῖν ἀληθῶς πατέρα εἶναι νομίζειν καὶ τὸν υἱὸν ἀληθῶς υἱὸν καὶ τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα ὡσαύτως. 66 ἀδύνατον γὰρ τρεῖς ὑποστάσεις οὔσας ἑνοῦσθαι μονάδι, εἰ μὴ πρότερον ἡ τριὰς τὴν ἀρχὴν ἀπὸ μονάδος ἔχοι. ἐκεῖνα γὰρ ἀνακεφαλαιοῦσθαι ἔφησεν μονάδι ὁ ἱερὸς Παῦλος, ἃ μηδὲν τῇ ἑνότητι τῷ θεῷ διαφέρει· ἑνότητι γὰρ ὁ λόγος καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα τῷ θεῷ διαφέρει μόνα. 67 εἰ τοίνυν ὁ λόγος φαίνοιτο ἐξ αὐτοῦ τοῦ πατρὸς ἐξελθὼν καὶ πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἐληλυθώς, τὸ δὲ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, ὡς καὶ Ἀστέριος ὡμολόγησεν, παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς ἐκπορεύεται, αὖθίς τε ὁ σωτήρ φησιν περὶ τοῦ πνεύματος ὅτι "οὐκ ἀφ' ἑαυτοῦ λαλήσει, ἀλλ' ὅσα ἀκούσει λαλήσει, καὶ τὰ ἐρχόμενα ἀναγγελεῖ ὑμῖν. ἐκεῖνός με δοξάσει, ὅτι ἐκ τοῦ ἐμοῦ λήψεται καὶ ἀναγγελεῖ ὑμῖν", οὐ σαφῶς καὶ φανερῶς ἐνταῦθα ἀπορρήτῳ δὲ λόγῳ ἡ μονὰς φαίνεται, πλατυνομένη μὲν εἰς τριάδα, διαιρεῖσθαι δὲ μηδαμῶς ὑπομένουσα; εἰ γὰρ ὁ μὲν λόγος ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς ἐκπορεύεται, τὸ δὲ πνεῦμα καὶ αὐτὸ ὁμολογεῖται ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς ἐκπορεύεσθαι, αὖθίς τε περὶ τοῦ πνεύματος τὸν σωτῆρα λέγειν "ἐκεῖνος ἐκ τοῦ ἐμοῦ λήψεται καὶ ἀναγγελεῖ ὑμῖν", οὐκ ἄρα πρόδηλόν ἐστιν κεκρυμμένον