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Is not he who says 'the Holy One is not eternal' openly a Philistine, envying the sheep of our Patriarch, so that they may not drink from the pure water that springs up to eternal life, but that they may draw to themselves the prophetic saying, 'They have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and hewed out for themselves broken cisterns that can hold no water,' when it is necessary to confess God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, as both the divine words and those who have understood them more sublimely have taught? And to those who accuse us of tritheism, let that be said, that we confess one God, not in number, but in nature. For everything that is said to be one in number is not truly one, nor is it simple in its nature; but God is confessed by all to be simple and uncompounded. Therefore, God is not one in number. And what I mean is this. We say that the world is one in number, but not one in nature, nor is it simple. For we divide it into the elements from which it is composed, into fire and water and air and earth. Again, man is called one in number. For we often speak of one man. But he is not simple, being composed of body and soul. Likewise we shall also call an angel one in number, but not one in nature, nor simple; for we understand the hypostasis of the angel as substance with sanctification. If, therefore, everything that is one in number is not one in nature, and that which is one in nature and simple is not one in number, and we say that God is one in nature, how do they introduce number to us, when we completely banish it from that blessed and intelligible nature? For number belongs to quantity, and quantity is joined to corporeal nature; for number belongs to corporeal nature. But we have believed our Lord to be the creator of bodies. Therefore every number signifies those things that have received a material and circumscribed nature, but the monad and unity are indicative of the simple and incomprehensible substance. Therefore, he who confesses the Son of God or the Holy Spirit to be a number or a creature unwittingly introduces a material and circumscribed nature. And by circumscribed I mean not only that which is contained by place, but also that which He who was about to bring it from non-being into being encompassed in His foreknowledge, which is also possible to comprehend with knowledge. Therefore every holy being which has a circumscribed nature and has acquired holiness is not incapable of receiving evil. But the Son and the Holy Spirit are a source of sanctification, by which every rational creature is sanctified according to the proportion of its virtue. 8.3 And yet we, according to the true account, say the Son is neither like nor unlike the Father. For each of these is equally impossible. For 'like' and 'unlike' are said with respect to qualities, but the divine is free from quality. But confessing an identity of nature, we both accept the 'homoousion' and flee from composition, since God and Father in essence has begotten God and Son in essence. For from this the 'homoousion' is demonstrated. For God in essence is 'homoousios' with God in essence, since man is also called a god, as in "I said, you are gods." And a demon is called a god, as in "The gods of the nations are demons." But some are so named by grace, others by falsehood. But God alone is God in essence. And when I say 'alone,' I indicate the holy and uncreated substance of God. For 'alone' is said both of a certain man and simply of nature in general. Of a certain one, for instance, let us say, of Paul, that he alone was caught up to the third heaven and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. And of nature in general, as when David says: "Man, his days are like grass." For here he indicates not a certain man, but the universal nature. For every man is temporary and mortal. So also we understand those things spoken of the nature, the "who alone has immortality," and "to the only wise God," and "No one is good but God alone." For 'one' here signifies the same as 'alone.' And "He who stretched out the heaven

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Ἅγιον οὐκ ἀΐδιον οὐκ ἀντικρύς ἐστι Φυλιστιαῖος, βασκαί νων τοῖς τοῦ Πατριάρχου ἡμῶν προβάτοις, ἵνα μὴ πίνωσιν ἐκ τοῦ καθαροῦ καὶ ἁλλομένου εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον ὕδατος, ἀλλὰ τὸ τοῦ προφήτου λόγιον πρὸς ἑαυτοὺς ἐπισπάσωνται τὸ «Ἐμὲ ἐγκατέλιπον πηγὴν ὕδατος ζῶντος καὶ ὤρυξαν ἑαυτοῖς λάκκους συντετριμμένους, οἳ οὐ δυνήσονται ὕδωρ συσχεῖν», δέον ὁμολογεῖν Θεὸν τὸν Πατέρα, Θεὸν τὸν Υἱόν, Θεὸν τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ Ἅγιον, ὡς οἵ τε θεῖοι λόγοι καὶ οἱ τούτους ὑψηλότερον νενοηκότες ἐδίδαξαν; Πρὸς δὲ τοὺς ἐπηρε άζοντας ἡμῖν τὸ τρίθεον ἐκεῖνο λεγέσθω ὅτιπερ ἡμεῖς ἕνα Θεόν, οὐ τῷ ἀριθμῷ, ἀλλὰ τῇ φύσει, ὁμολογοῦμεν. Πᾶν γὰρ ὃ ἓν ἀριθμῷ λέγεται τοῦτο οὐχ ἓν ὄντως, οὐδ' ἁπλοῦν τῇ φύσει ἐστίν· ὁ δὲ Θεὸς ἁπλοῦς καὶ ἀσύνθετος παρὰ πᾶσιν ὁμολογεῖται. Οὐκ ἄρα εἷς ἀριθμῷ ἐστιν ὁ Θεός. Ὃ δὲ λέγω τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν. Ἓν ἀριθμῷ τὸν κόσμον εἶναί φαμεν, ἀλλ' οὐχ ἕνα τῇ φύσει, οὐδ' ἁπλοῦν τινα τοῦτον. Τέμνομεν γὰρ αὐτὸν εἰς τὰ ἐξ ὧν συνέστηκε στοιχεῖα, εἰς πῦρ καὶ ὕδωρ καὶ ἀέρα καὶ γῆν. Πάλιν ὁ ἄνθρωπος εἷς ἀριθμῷ ὀνομάζεται. Ἕνα γὰρ ἄνθρωπον πολλάκις λέγομεν. Ἀλλ' οὐχ ἁπλοῦς τις οὗτός ἐστιν, ἐκ σώματος καὶ ψυχῆς συνεστώς. Ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ ἄγγελον ἕνα ἀριθμῷ ἐροῦμεν, ἀλλ' οὐχ ἕνα τῇ φύσει, οὐδὲ ἁπλοῦν· οὐσίαν γὰρ μεθ' ἁγιασμοῦ τὴν τοῦ ἀγγέλου ὑπόστασιν ἐννοοῦμεν. Εἰ τοίνυν πᾶν τὸ ἓν ἀριθμῷ ἓν τῇ φύσει οὐκ ἔστι, καὶ τὸ ἓν τῇ φύσει καὶ ἁπλοῦν ἓν ἀριθμῷ οὐκ ἔστιν, ἡμεῖς δὲ λέγομεν ἕνα τῇ φύσει Θεόν, πῶς ἐπεισ άγουσιν ἡμῖν τὸν ἀριθμόν, αὐτὸν πάντη ἡμῶν ἐξοριζόντων τῆς μακαρίας ἐκείνης καὶ νοητῆς φύσεως; Ὁ γὰρ ἀριθμός ἐστι τοῦ ποσοῦ, τὸ δὲ ποσὸν τῇ σωματικῇ φύσει συνέζευ κται· ὁ γὰρ ἀριθμὸς τῆς σωματικῆς φύσεως. Σωμάτων δὲ δημιουργὸν τὸν Κύριον ἡμῶν εἶναι πεπιστεύκαμεν. ∆ιὸ καὶ πᾶς ἀριθμὸς ἐκεῖνα σημαίνει τὰ ἔνυλον καὶ περιγραπτὴν ἔχειν λαχόντα τὴν φύσιν, ἡ δὲ μονὰς καὶ ἑνὰς τῆς ἁπλῆς καὶ ἀπεριλήπτου οὐσίας ἐστὶ σημαντική. Ὁ τοίνυν ἀριθμὸν ἢ κτίσμα ὁμολογῶν τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἢ τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ Ἅγιον λανθάνει ἔνυλον καὶ περιγραπτὴν φύσιν εἰσάγων. Περιγρα πτὴν δὲ λέγω οὐ μόνον τὴν περιεχομένην ὑπὸ τόπου, ἀλλ' ἥνπερ καὶ τῇ προγνώσει ἐμπεριείληφεν ὁ μέλλων αὐτὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ μὴ ὄντος εἰς τὸ εἶναι παράγειν, ὃ καὶ ἐπιστήμῃ περι λαβεῖν δυνατόν ἐστι. Πᾶν οὖν ἅγιον ὃ περιγραπτὴν ἔχει τὴν φύσιν καὶ ἐπίκτητον ἔχει τὴν ἁγιότητα οὐκ ἀνεπίδεκτόν ἐστι κακίας. Ὁ δὲ Υἱὸς καὶ τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ Ἅγιον πηγή ἐστιν ἁγιασμοῦ, ὑφ' ἧς πᾶσα ἡ λογικὴ κτίσις κατ' ἀναλογίαν τῆς ἀρετῆς ἁγιάζεται. 8.3 Καίτοι ἡμεῖς, κατὰ τὸν ἀληθῆ λόγον, οὔτε ὅμοιον οὔτε ἀνόμοιον λέγομεν τὸν Υἱὸν τῷ Πατρί. Ἑκάτερον γὰρ αὐτῶν ἐπίσης ἀδύνατον. Ὅμοιον γὰρ καὶ ἀνόμοιον κατὰ τὰς ποιό τητας λέγεται, ποιότητος δὲ τὸ θεῖον ἐλεύθερον. Ταυτότητα δὲ τῆς φύσεως ὁμολογοῦντες καὶ τὸ ὁμοούσιον ἐκδεχόμεθα καὶ τὸ σύνθετον φεύγομεν, τοῦ κατ' οὐσίαν Θεοῦ καὶ Πατρὸς τὸν κατ' οὐσίαν Θεὸν καὶ Υἱὸν γεγεννηκότος. Ἐκ γὰρ τού του τὸ ὁμοούσιον δείκνυται. Ὁ γὰρ κατ' οὐσίαν Θεὸς τῷ κατ' οὐσίαν Θεῷ ὁμοούσιός ἐστιν, ἐπειδὴ λέγεται θεὸς καὶ ὁ ἄνθρωπος, ὡς τὸ «Ἐγὼ εἶπα θεοί ἐστε». Καὶ ὁ δαίμων θεός, ὡς τὸ «Οἱ θεοὶ τῶν ἐθνῶν δαιμόνια». Ἀλλ' οἳ μὲν κατὰ χάριν ὀνομάζονται, οἳ δὲ κατὰ ψεῦδος Ὁ δὲ Θεὸς μόνος κατ' οὐσίαν ἐστὶ Θεός. Μόνος δὲ ὅταν εἴπω, τὴν οὐσίαν τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν ἁγίαν καὶ ἄκτιστον δηλῶ. Τὸ γὰρ μόνος λέγεται καὶ ἐπί τινος ἀνθρώπου καὶ ἐπὶ φύσεως ἁπλῶς τῆς καθόλου. Ἐπί τινος μέν, οἷον, φέρε εἰπεῖν, ἐπὶ Παύλου, ὅτι μόνος ἡρπάγη ἕως τρίτου οὐρανοῦ καὶ ἤκουσεν ἄρρητα ῥήματα ἃ οὐκ ἐξὸν ἀνθρώπῳ λαλῆσαι. Ἐπὶ φύσεως δὲ τῆς καθόλου, ὡς ὅταν λέγῃ ∆αβίδ· «Ἄνθρωπος, ὡσεὶ χόρτος αἱ ἡμέραι αὐτοῦ». Ἐνταῦθα γὰρ οὐ τόν τινα ἄνθρωπον, ἀλλὰ τὴν καθό λου φύσιν δηλοῖ. Πᾶς γὰρ ἄνθρωπος πρόσκαιρος καὶ θνητός. Οὕτω κἀκεῖνα νοοῦμεν ἐπὶ τῆς φύσεως εἰρημένα, τὸ «Ὁ μόνος ἔχων ἀθανασίαν», καὶ «Μόνῳ σοφῷ Θεῷ», καὶ τὸ «Οὐδεὶς ἀγαθὸς εἰ μὴ εἷς ὁ Θεός». Τὸ γὰρ εἷς ἐνταῦθα τῷ μόνος ταὐτὸν δηλοῖ. Καὶ τὸ «Ὁ τανύσας τὸν οὐρανὸν