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of faith. For while all others who belong to our doctrine are divided in three ways, and while many are sick in their doctrine concerning the Son, and more are so concerning the Holy Spirit, where even a lesser impiety was considered piety, and few are sound in both; he first and alone, or with very few, dares so clearly and explicitly for the truth, by confessing in writing one divinity and essence of the Three; and what was formerly granted to the great number of the Fathers concerning the Son, this 35.1124 he himself, being inspired afterwards concerning the Holy Spirit, and bringing a truly royal and magnificent gift to the king, a written piety against unwritten innovation; so that king might be wrestled down by king, word by word, and letter by letter.

34. This confession, it seems to me, is revered by those of the West, and those of the East, as much as is viable; some bring their piety only as far as their thought, if we are to believe anything they say, but do not advance it further, like some dead embryo dying within its mother; others kindle it a little, like sparks, enough to get through the occasion, or to appease the more zealous of the orthodox, or the piety of the people; but others speak the truth boldly, of whose party I would be; for I do not dare to boast of anything more, no longer managing my own cowardice as though it were the mindset of the weaker ones (for we have managed it enough, neither taking on what is foreign, nor corrupting what is our own, which is truly the mark of bad stewards); but bringing the offspring to light, and nurturing it with zeal, and setting it before the eyes of all, ever being perfected.

35. This, then, is less worthy of admiration among his deeds. For he who in deed faced danger for the truth, what wonder is it if he confessed it in writing? But what most strikes me to admire in the man (and it is a loss to be silent, especially on account of the time, which brings forth many divisions), this I will add to what has been said; for his action might be an instruction for those of today, if we would look to him. For just as from one body of water, not only is that part which the scooping hand has let go divided off, but also that which was held in the hand and flowed out through the fingers; so also among us not only what is impious is rent asunder, but also what is more pious, not only over small doctrines worthy of being overlooked (for this would be less terrible), but now even over words that lead to the same meaning. For while the one essence and the three hypostases are spoken of piously by us (for the one indicates the nature of the divinity, the other the individual properties of the Three), and are understood similarly by the Italians, but they are unable, because of the limitation 35.1125 of their language and poverty of terms, to distinguish hypostasis from essence, and for this reason they introduce the term persons, so that three essences might not be admitted, what happens? Something utterly ridiculous, or rather, pitiful. A petty quibble about a sound was deemed a difference in faith. Then Sabellianism was imputed here to the three persons, and Arianism to the three hypostases, fictions of contentiousness. Then what? With some small vexing thing always being added (which contentiousness makes vexing), the ends of the earth are in danger of being torn apart along with the syllables. Therefore, seeing and hearing these things, that blessed man, and truly a man of God, and a great steward of souls, did not think it right to overlook such an absurd and irrational division of the Word; but he applies his own remedy to the sickness. How then does he do this? Calling both parties to him so gently and humanely, and having carefully examined the meaning of what was being said, when he found them to be in agreement and in no way differing in doctrine, by conceding the terms, he binds them together in the realities.

36. This was more profitable than the long labors and treatises which everyone now writes; with which some ambition is also joined, and for this reason perhaps also something...

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πίστεως. Τῶν γὰρ ἄλλων ἁπάντων, ὅσοι τοῦ καθ' ἡμᾶς λόγου, τριχῆ νενεμημένων, καὶ πολλῶν μὲν ὄντων τῶν περὶ τὸν Υἱὸν ἀῤῥωστούντων, πλειόνων δὲ τῶν περὶ τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, ἔνθα καὶ τὸ ἧττον ἀσεβεῖν εὐσέβεια ἐνομίσθη, ὀλίγου δὲ τῶν κατ' ἀμφότερα ὑγιαίνοντος· πρῶτος καὶ μόνος, ἢ κομιδῆ σὺν ὀλίγοις ἀποτολμᾷ τὴν ἀλήθειαν σαφῶς οὑτωσὶ καὶ διαῤῥή δην, τῶν τριῶν μίαν θεότητα καὶ οὐσίαν ἐγγράφως ὁμολογήσας· καὶ ὃ τῷ πολλῷ τῶν Πατέρων ἀρι θμῷ περὶ τὸν Υἱὸν ἐχαρίσθη πρότερον, τοῦτο 35.1124 περὶ τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος αὐτὸς ἐμπνευσθεὶς ὕστε ρον, καὶ δῶρον βασιλικὸν ὄντως καὶ μεγαλοπρεπὲς τῷ βασιλεῖ προσενεγκὼν, ἔγγραφον τὴν εὐσέβειαν κατὰ τῆς ἀγράφου καινοτομίας· ἵνα βασιλεῖ μὲν βασιλεὺς, λόγῳ δὲ λόγος, γράμματι δὲ γράμμα κατα παλαίηται.

Λ∆ʹ. Ταύτην μοι δοκοῦσιν αἰδούμενοι τὴν ὁμολο γίαν, οἵ τε τῆς ἑσπερίας, καὶ τῆς ἑῴας, ὅσον βιώσι μον· οἱ μὲν μέχρι διανοίας ἄγειν τὸ εὐσεβὲς, εἴ τι λέγουσιν αὐτοῖς πιστευτέον, περαιτέρω δὲ μὴ προάγειν, ὥσπερ τι νεκρὸν κύημα ταῖς μητράσιν ἐναποθνῆσκον· οἱ δὲ μικρὸν ἐξάπτειν, ὥσπερ σπινθῆρας, ὅσον ἀφοσιοῦσθαι τὸν καιρὸν, ἢ τῶν ὀρθοδόξων τοὺς θερμοτέρους, ἢ τῶν λαῶν τὸ φιλό θεον· οἱ δὲ καὶ παῤῥησιάζεσθαι τὴν ἀλήθειαν, ἧς ἂν εἴην ἐγὼ μερίδος· οὐ γὰρ τολμῶ τι πλέον καυ χήσασθαι, μηκέτι τὴν ἐμὴν δειλίαν οἰκονομῶν, ὡς δὴ τὴν τῶν σαθροτέρων διάνοιαν (ἱκανῶς γὰρ ᾠκο νομήσαμεν, μήτε τὸ ἀλλότριον προσλαμβάνοντες, καὶ τὸ ἡμέτερον φθείροντες, ὃ κακῶν ὄντως ἐστὶν οἰκονό μων)· ἀλλ' εἰς φῶς ἄγων τὸν τόκον, καὶ μετὰ σπου δῆς ἐκτρέφων, καὶ ταῖς ἁπάντων ὄψεσι προτιθεὶς, ἀεὶ τελειούμενον.

ΛΕʹ. Τοῦτο μὲν οὖν ἧττον τῶν ἐκείνου θαυ μάζειν ἄξιον. Ὁ γὰρ ἔργῳ τῆς ἀληθείας προκινδυ νεύσας, τί θαυμαστὸν εἰ γράμματι ταύτην καθωμο λόγησεν; Ὃ δέ μοι μάλιστα τοῦ ἀνδρὸς θαυμάζειν ἔπεισι (καὶ ζημία τὸ σιωπᾷν, διὰ τὸν καιρὸν μάλιστα, πολλὰς φύοντα τὰς διαστάσεις), τοῦτο ἔτι προσ θήσω τοῖς εἰρημένοις· γένοιτο γὰρ ἄν τι παίδευμα καὶ τοῖς νῦν ἡ πρᾶξις, εἰ πρὸς ἐκεῖνον βλέποιμεν. Ὡς γὰρ ὕδατος ἑνὸς τέμνεται οὐ τοῦτο μόνον, ὅσον ἡ χεὶρ ἀφῆκεν ἀρυομένη, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὅσον τῇ χειρὶ περιεσχέθη τῶν δακτύλων ἐκρέον· οὕτω καὶ ἡμῶν οὐχ ὅσον ἀσεβὲς σχίζεται μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὅσον εὐ σεβέστερον, οὐ περὶ δογμάτων μόνον μικρῶν καὶ παρ ορᾶσθαι ἀξίων (ἧττον γὰρ ἂν ἦν τοῦτο δεινὸν), ἀλλ' ἤδη καὶ περὶ ῥημάτων εἰς τὴν αὐτὴν φερόντων διάνοιαν. Τῆς γὰρ μιᾶς οὐσίας, καὶ τῶν τριῶν ὑπο στάσεων λεγομένων μὲν ὑφ' ἡμῶν εὐσεβῶς (τὸ μὲν γὰρ τὴν φύσιν δηλοῖ τῆς θεότητος, τὸ δὲ τὰς τῶν τριῶν ἰδιότητας), νοουμένων δὲ καὶ παρὰ τοῖς Ἰτα λοῖς ὁμοίως, ἀλλ' οὐ δυναμένοις διὰ στενότητα 35.1125 τῆς παρ' αὐτοῖς γλώττης, καὶ ὀνομάτων πενίαν, δι ελεῖν ἀπὸ τῆς οὐσίας τὴν ὑπόστασιν, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἀντεισαγούσης τὰ πρόσωπα, ἵνα μὴ τρεῖς οὐσίαι πα ραδεχθῶσι, τί γίνεται; Ὡς λίαν γελοῖον, ἢ ἐλει νόν. Πίστεως ἔδοξε διαφορὰ ἡ περὶ τὸν ἦχον σμικρο λογία. Εἶτα Σαβελλισμὸς ἐνταῦθα ἐπενοήθη τοῖς τρισὶ προσώποις, καὶ Ἀρειανισμὸς ταῖς τρισὶν ὑποστάσεσι, τὰ τῆς φιλονεικίας ἀναπλάσματα. Εἶτα τί; Προστιθεμένου μικροῦ τινος ἀεὶ τοῦ λυποῦντος (ὃ λυπηρὸν ἡ φιλονεικία ποιεῖ), κινδυνεύει συναποῤ ῥαγῆναι ταῖς συλλαβαῖς τὰ πέρατα. Ταῦτ' οὖν ὁρῶν καὶ ἀκούων ὁ μακάριος ἐκεῖνος, καὶ ὡς ἀληθῶς ἄν θρωπος τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ μέγας τῶν ψυχῶν οἰκονόμος, οὐκ ᾠήθη δεῖν παριδεῖν τὴν ἄτοπον οὕτω καὶ ἄλογον τοῦ Λόγου κατατομήν· τὸ δὲ παρ' ἑαυτοῦ φάρ μακον ἐπάγει τῷ ἀῤῥωστήματι. Πῶς οὖν τοῦτο ποιεῖ; Προσκαλεσάμενος ἀμφότερα τὰ μέρη οὑτωσὶ πράως καὶ φιλανθρώπως, καὶ τὸν νοῦν τῶν λεγομένων ἀκριβῶς ἐξετάσας, ἐπειδὴ συμφρονοῦντας εὗρε καὶ οὐδὲν διεστῶτας κατὰ τὸν λόγον, τὰ ὀνόματα συγχωρήσας, συνδεῖ τοῖς πράγμασιν.

Λςʹ. Τοῦτο τῶν μακρῶν πόνων καὶ λόγων λυσιτελέστερον, οὓς πάντες ἤδη λογογραφοῦσιν· οἷς τι καὶ φιλοτιμίας συνέζευκται, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἴσως τι καὶ