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Hermias, whose beginning is: Of good labors; What then, does not Scripture say that the very words of God are of the Spirit? For the divine Isaiah, narrating to us that extraordinary and most awesome theophany: says, "I saw the Lord Sabaoth sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up," and after relating the things in between: he says, "I heard the Lord Sabaoth saying: Whom shall I send, and who will go to this people? And I said: Behold, I am here; send me. And he said: Go, and say to this people: Hearing you will hear, and shall not understand; and seeing you will see, and shall not perceive." But the divine John says concerning the Only-Begotten: "These things Isaiah said, when he saw His glory and spoke of Him." Indeed Stephen the most wise, speaking to the Jews, said: "You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart, you always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did." Is it not now somehow clear that, while by the otherness according to proper hypostasis it is very well distinguished what the Father is, and what the Son is, and indeed what the Spirit is, yet by the concurrence toward a natural unity all things—presence and words and participation and energy and glory and whatever adorns the divine nature—are common to all? What then, will not even he who has tasted at least a little of dogmatics know clearly, that the Trisagion hymn, by "the otherness according to proper hypostasis," as the God-bearing Father said, shows the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, but by "the concurrence toward a natural unity" and monarchy, the "Lord." For the number three is indicative of three, while the monad is of one. Therefore "holy, holy, holy" and thrice-holy, because there are three hypostases; "Lord," because the three hypostases are one God. And the three are one God, because there is one divinity and the things from it have their reference to one, without the hypostases being separated, or indeed composed, or co-mingled. 24 From the first discourse of Saint Gregory of Nyssa against Eunomius: Likewise also the seraphim in Isaiah, by whom the mystery of the Trinity was clearly proclaimed, when, astonished at the beauty in each of the Three in the Trinity, they cried out with wonder the voice "holy." Behold, the God-speaking Father has clearly said, that through the Trisagion hymn "the mystery of the Trinity was clearly proclaimed": through "holy" being cried out three times, the trinity of persons, and through "Lord" being exclaimed once, the unity of nature and lordship. 25 And the holy and wonderful Epiphanius also says something like this in the discourse entitled Ancoratus: And through the threefold witness may they receive the Holy Spirit and be filled by the clear voices of the seraphim and cherubim crying out a third time "holy, holy, holy"; for the doxology in heaven is not performed with two voices. Nor do the same holy and invisible and spiritual creatures cry out a fourth time, nor do they render a fourth voice nor only one, but three singular voices "holy, holy, holy" and they do not say 'holies, holies, holies', so that they may not declare the singular to be of many names nor conceal the three-ness of the three, but they give the sanctification three times, and they utter the word singly in a singular form, so that they might not name polytheism. This God-revealing Father has delivered us concerning these matters, declaring most clearly that the doxology in heaven is not performed with two voices, nor with one or a fourth voice, but with three, and these singular. For what reason? Because the hymn is indicative not of one hypostasis, but of the three. Therefore, just as the hymn is not performed with two voices or four, but with three because of the threeness of the hypostases, so the Trisagion hymn, being indicative of the three hypostases, has no place to be said of one of the hypostases. It is impossible, therefore, as I said above, to speak of a definite number concerning God except the singular and the triadic

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Ἑρμείαν, οὗ ἡ ἀρχή· Πόνων ἀγαθῶν· Τί δέ, οὐχὶ καὶ αὐτοὺς τοὺς τοῦ θεοῦ λόγους πνεύματος εἶναί φησιν ἡ γραφή; Ἡσαΐας μὲν γὰρ ὁ θεσπέσιος τὴν ἐξαίσιον ἡμᾶς καὶ φρικωδεστάτην ἐκείνην θεοπτίαν ἀφηγούμενος· «Εἶδον», φησίν, «τὸν κύριον σαβαὼθ καθήμενον ἐπὶ θρόνου ὑψηλοῦ καὶ ἐπηρμένου», καὶ τὰ διὰ μέσου τούτοις ἐπενεγκών· «Ἤκουσα», φησίν, «κυρίου σαβαὼθ λέγοντος· Τίνα ἀποστείλω καὶ τίς πορεύσεται πρὸς τὸν λαὸν τοῦτον; Καὶ εἶπα· Ἰδοὺ ἐγώ, ἀπόστειλόν με. Καὶ εἶπε· Πορεύου καὶ εἶπον τῷ λαῷ τούτῳ· Ἀκοῇ ἀκούσητε καὶ οὐ μὴ συνῆτε, καὶ βλέποντες βλέψητε καὶ οὐ μὴ ἴδητε.» Ἀλλ' ὁ μὲν θεσπέσιος Ἰωάννης περὶ τοῦ μονογενοῦς φησιν· «Ταῦτα εἶπεν Ἡσαΐας, ἡνίκα εἶδε τὴν δόξαν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐλάλησε περὶ αὐτοῦ». Στέφανός γε μὴν ὁ σοφώτατος Ἰουδαίοις ἔφη προσλαλῶν· «Σκληροτράχηλοι καὶ ἀπερίτμητοι τῇ καρδίᾳ, ὑμεῖς ἀεὶ τῷ πνεύματι τῷ ἁγίῳ ἀντιπίπτετε ὡς οἱ πατέρες ὑμῶν.» Ἆρα οὐκ ἐναργὲς ἤδη πως, ὡς ἑτερότητι μὲν τῇ καθ' ὑπόστασιν ἰδικήν, τί μέν ἐστιν πατήρ, τί δὲ καὶ υἱός, τί δὲ δὴ καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα, εὖ μάλα διαγινώσκεται, συμβάσει γε μὴν τῇ πρὸς ἑνότητα φυσικὴν πάντα δὴ πάντων παρουσία τε καὶ λόγοι καὶ μέθεξις ἐνέργειά τε καὶ δόξα καὶ ὅσα τὴν θείαν κατακαλλύνει φύσιν; Τί δέ, οὐχὶ ἄρα γε καὶ ὁ μικρὸν γοῦν δογματικῆς γεγευμένος εἴσεται σαφῶς, ὡς ὁ τρισάγιος ὕμνος «ἑτερότητι μὲν τῇ καθ' ὑπόστασιν ἰδικήν», ὡς καὶ ὁ θεοφόρος ἔφη πατήρ, τὸν πατέρα καὶ τὸν υἱὸν καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον δείκνυσι, «συμβάσει δὲ τῇ πρὸς ἑνότητα φυσικὴν» καὶ μοναρχίαν τὸ «κύριος». Ὁ γὰρ τρὶς ἀριθμὸς τριῶν ἐστι σημαντικός, ἑνὸς δὲ ἡ μονάς. Οὐκοῦν «ἅγιος, ἅγιος, ἅγιος» καὶ τρισάγιος, ὅτι τρεῖς ὑποστάσεις· «κύριος», ὅτι εἷς αἱ τρεῖς ὑποστάσεις θεός. Εἷς δὲ τὰ τρία θεός, ὅτι μία θεότης καὶ πρὸς ἓν τὰ ἐξ αὐτοῦ τὴν ἀναφορὰν ἔχει οὐκ ἐξισταμένων οὔτε μὴν συντιθεμένων ἢ συναλειφομένων τῶν ὑποστάσεων. 24 Τοῦ ἁγίου Γρηγορίου τοῦ Νύσσης ἐκ τοῦ κατ' Εὐνομίου πρώτου λόγου· Ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ τὰ παρὰ τῷ Ἡσαΐᾳ σεραφίμ, παρ' ὧν ἐναργῶς τὸ τῆς τριάδος ἐκηρύχθη μυστήριον, ὅτε τὴν «ἅγιος» φωνὴν τὸ ἐν ἑκάστῳ τῶν ἐν τῇ τριάδι κάλλος καταπλησσόμενα θαυμαστικῶς ἐξεβόησεν. Ἰδοὺ δὴ σαφῶς ἔφη ὁ θεηγόρος πατήρ, διὰ τοῦ τρισαγίου ὕμνου «ἐναργῶς τὸ τῆς τριάδος κεκηρύχθαι μυστήριον» διὰ μὲν τοῦ τρὶς βεβοῆσθαι τὸ «ἅγιος» τὴν τῶν προσώπων τριάδα, διὰ δὲ τοῦ ἅπαξ κεκράχθαι τὸ «κύριος» τὸ ἑνιαῖον τῆς φύσεώς τε καὶ κυριότητος. 25 Καὶ ὁ ἅγιος δὲ καὶ θαυμαστὸς Ἐπιφάνιος ὧδέ πή φησιν ἐν τῷ ἐπιγεγραμμένῳ Ἀγκυρωτῷ λόγῳ· ∆ιὰ δὲ τῆς τριττῆς μαρτυρίας λάβωσι πνεῦμα ἅγιον καὶ πληρωθῶσι φανερῶν τῶν φωνῶν τῶν σεραφὶμ καὶ χερουβὶμ κραζόντων τρίτον τὸ «ἅγιος, ἅγιος, ἅγιος»· οὐ γὰρ διὰ δύο φωνῶν ἡ δοξολογία ἐν οὐρανῷ τελεῖται. Οὐδὲ τέταρτον ἐπιφωνοῦσι τὰ αὐτὰ ἅγια καὶ ἀόρατα καὶ πνευματικὰ ζῷα οὐδὲ τετάρτην φωνὴν ἀποδίδωσι τὰ αὐτὰ οὐδὲ μίαν μόνην, ἀλλὰ τρεῖς φωνὰς ἑνικὰς τὸ «ἅγιος, ἅγιος, ἅγιος» καὶ οὐ λέγουσιν ἅγιοι, ἅγιοι, ἅγιοι, ἵνα μὴ τὸ ἑνικὸν πολυώνυμον ἀποφήνωσι μηδὲ τῶν τριῶν τὸ τρισάριθμον ἀποκρύψωσιν, ἀλλὰ τρὶς μὲν διδόασι τὴν ἁγιστείαν, μονοειδῶς δὲ ἑνικῶς ἀποφθέγγονται τὸν λόγον, ἵνα μὴ πολυθεΐαν ὀνομάσωσιν. Ἀπήλλαξεν ἡμᾶς ὁ θεοφάντωρ οὗτος πατὴρ περὶ τῶν πραγμάτων ἀριδήλως ἀποφηνάμενος, ὡς οὐ διὰ δύο φωνῶν ἡ δοξολογία ἐν οὐρανῷ τελεῖται οὐδὲ μιᾶς ἢ τετάρτης φωνῆς, ἀλλὰ τριῶν καὶ αὐτῶν ἑνικῶν. Τίνος ἕνεκα; Ὅτι οὐ μιᾶς ὑποστάσεως ἐνδεικτικὸς ὁ ὕμνος, ἀλλὰ τῶν τριῶν. Ὥσπερ οὖν οὐ διὰ δύο φωνῶν ἢ τεττάρων ὁ ὕμνος ἐκτελεῖται, ἀλλὰ διὰ τριῶν διὰ τὸ τρισσὸν τῶν ὑποστάσεων, οὕτω τῶν τριῶν ὑποστάσεων ἐνδεικτικὸς ὢν ὁ τρισάγιος ὕμνος ἐπὶ μιᾶς τῶν ὑποστάσεων λέγεσθαι χώραν οὐκ ἔχει. Ἀδύνατον οὖν, ὡς ἔφην ἀνωτέρω, ὡρισμένον ἀριθμὸν ἐπὶ θεοῦ λέγειν εἰ μὴ τὸν ἑνικὸν καὶ τὸν τριαδικὸν