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all, calling it illegitimate and counterfeit. And when a very great uproar arose against them and all were accusing them of betraying piety, they, being afraid, rose up and were the first to renounce Arius, except for Secundus and Theonas. And so, with the impious one out of the way, they all with one accord dictated the faith that is practiced in the churches even to this day, and after confirming it with their signatures, they dissolved the council. However, the aforementioned men agreed to this faith deceitfully and not sincerely. And both the things later contrived by them against the champions of piety and the things written by those very men about them bear witness to this. For that Eustathius, the bishop of the Antiochenes, whom I also mentioned before, wrote these things about them, teaching what had happened, refuting the blasphemy, and interpreting the proverbial saying: "The Lord created me as the beginning of his ways for his works." A refutation of the Arians from the writings of Eustathius the Great and Athanasius. "I shall proceed from here now also to the things that were done. What then? Since on account of these things a very great synod arrived at Nicaea, 34 with two hundred and seventy in number having been gathered together (for I am not able to write the exact number because of the multitude of men, since I did not investigate this with all diligence), but when the formula of the faith was being sought, the letter of Eusebius' blasphemy was brought forward as a clear refutation. And when it was read before all, it immediately caused immeasurable distress to the hearers on account of its deviation, and brought irreparable shame upon the one who wrote it. But since the workshop of those around Eusebius was clearly captured, when the unlawful letter was torn apart in the sight of all together, some by prearrangement, putting forward the name of peace, silenced all those accustomed to speak best. But the Ariomaniacs, fearing lest they might somehow be ostracized with so great a synod assembled in the same place, leaping forward anathematized the forbidden dogma, signing with their own hands on agreeing letters. But having taken possession of the presidencies through the greatest possible commotion, though it was necessary for them to be held in suspicion, sometimes secretly, sometimes openly, they advocate for the doctrines that had been voted against, plotting against the refutations in various ways. And wishing indeed to make fast their weed-like plantings, they fear the judges, they avoid the overseers, and in this way they make war upon the heralds of piety. But we do not believe that godless men are able ever to prevail over the divine. For even if they are strong again, they will be defeated again, according to the majestically-voiced prophet Isaiah." These things, then, the great Eustathius. But his fellow combatant and champion of the truth, Athanasius, the successor to the presidency of the all-honorable Alexander, 35 in what he wrote in his letter to the Africans, also added these things: "For when the bishops who had assembled wished to do away with the phrases of impiety invented by the Arians, 'from non-existent things' and calling the son a 'creature' and a 'product' and 'there was a time when he was not' and that he is of a 'changeable nature', and to write down the acknowledged phrases from the scriptures, that the Son is from God, by nature only-begotten, Word, Power, the only Wisdom of the Father, 'true God', as John said, and as Paul wrote, 'the radiance of his glory and the exact representation of his being', those around Eusebius, being drawn by their own evil doctrine, chattered to one another: 'Let us agree; for we too are from God; for "one God from whom are all things", and "the old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. And all things are from God".' And they also reasoned from what was written in the Shepherd: 'First of all, believe that there is one God, who created and fashioned all things, and made them to be from that which was not.' But the bishops, perceiving their villainy and the evil artifice of their impiety, stated 'from God' more clearly and wrote 'from the substance of'

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ἅπαντες, νόθον καὶ κίβδηλον ὀνομάσαντες. θορύβου δὲ πλείστου κατ' αὐτῶν γενομένου καὶ πάντων προδοσίαν αὐτῶν τῆς εὐσεβείας κατηγορούντων, δείσαντες ἐξανέστησαν καὶ πρῶτοι τὸν Ἄρειον ἀπεκή ρυξαν, πλὴν Σεκούνδου καὶ Θεωνᾶ. οὕτω δὲ τοῦ δυσσεβοῦς ἐκποδὼν γενομένου, συμφώνως ἅπαντες τὴν μέχρι καὶ νῦν ἐν ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις πολιτευομένην πίστιν ὑπαγορεύσαντες καὶ ταῖς ὑπογραφαῖς βεβαιώ σαντες διέλυσαν τὸ συνέδριον. Ὑπούλως μέντοι καὶ οὐκ εἰλικρινῶς οἱ προρρηθέντες τῇδε τῇ πίστει συνέθεντο. καὶ μαρτυρεῖ τά τε ὕστερον παρ' αὐτῶν τυρευθέντα κατὰ τῶν τῆς εὐσεβείας προμάχων καὶ τὰ παρ' αὐτῶν ἐκείνων περὶ αὐτῶν συγγραφέντα. Εὐστάθιος μὲν γὰρ ἐκεῖνος ὁ τῆς Ἀντιοχέων ἐπίσκοπος, οὗ καὶ πρόσθεν ἐμνήσθην, ταῦτα περὶ αὐτῶν ἔγραψε, τά τε γεγενημένα διδάσκων καὶ τὴν βλασφημίαν ἐλέγχων καὶ τὴν παροιμιακὴν ἑρμηνεύων ῥῆσιν· " κύριος ἔκτισέ με ἀρχὴν ὁδῶν αὐτοῦ εἰς ἔργα αὐτοῦ ". Ἔλεγχος τῶν Ἀρειανιζόντων ἐκ τῶν Εὐσταθίου τοῦ μεγάλου καὶ Ἀθανασίου συγγραμμάτων . "Βαδιοῦμαι δὲ ἐντεῦθεν ἤδη καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ πεπραγμένα. τί οὖν; "ἐπειδὴ διὰ ταῦτα σύνοδος εἰς τὴν Νικαέων ἀφικνεῖται μεγίστη, 34 "διακοσίων μήτι γε καὶ ἑβδομήκοντα τὸν ἀριθμὸν ὁμόσε συναχθέντων "(τὸ γὰρ σαφὲς διὰ τὸν τῆς πολυανδρίας ὄχλον οὐχ οἷός τέ εἰμι "γράφειν, ἐπειδὴ μὴ πάντη τοῦτο περισπουδάστως ἀνίχνευον), ὡς δὲ "ἐζητεῖτο τῆς πίστεως ὁ τρόπος, ἐναργὴς μὲν ἔλεγχος τὸ γράμμα τῆς "Εὐσεβίου προὐβάλλετο βλασφημίας. ἐπὶ πάντων δὲ ἀναγνωσθέν, "αὐτίκα συμφορὰν μὲν ἀστάθμητον τῆς ἐκτροπῆς ἕνεκα τοῖς αὐτη "κόοις προὐξένει, αἰσχύνην δ' ἀνήκεστον τῷ γράψαντι παρεῖχεν. "ἐπειδὴ δὲ τὸ ἐργαστήριον τῶν ἀμφὶ τὸν Εὐσέβιον σαφῶς ἑάλω, τοῦ "παρανόμου γράμματος διαρραγέντος ὑπ' ὄψει πάντων ὁμοῦ, τινὲς "ἐκ συσκευῆς, τοὔνομα προβαλλόμενοι τῆς εἰρήνης, κατεσίγησαν μὲν "ἅπαντας τοὺς ἄριστα λέγειν εἰωθότας. οἱ δ' Ἀρειομανῖται, δείσαντες "μή πη ἄρα τοσαύτης ἐν ταὐτῷ συνόδου συγκεκροτημένης ἐξοστρακι "σθεῖεν, ἀναθεματίζουσι μὲν προπηδήσαντες τὸ ἀπηγορευμένον δόγμα, "συμφώνοις γράμμασιν ὑπογράψαντες αὐτοχειρί. τῶν δὲ προεδριῶν "διὰ πλείστης ὅσης περιδρομῆς κρατήσαντες, δέον αὐτοὺς ὑπόπτωσιν "λαμβάνειν, τοτὲ μὲν λεληθότως, τοτὲ δὲ προφανῶς τὰς ἀποψηφι "σθείσας πρεσβεύουσι δόξας, διαφόροις ἐπιβουλεύοντες τοῖς ἐλέγχοις. "βουλόμενοι δὲ δὴ παγιῶσαι τὰ ζιζανιώδη φυτουργήματα, δεδοίκασι "τοὺς ἐπιγνώμονας, ἐκκλίνουσι τοὺς ἐφόρους καὶ ταύτῃ τοὺς τῆς "εὐσεβείας κήρυκας ἐκπολεμοῦσιν. οὐχ οὕτως δὲ πιστεύομεν ὡς ἀν "θρώπους ἀθέους δύνασθαι κρατῆσαι πώποτε τοῦ θείου. κἂν γὰρ "πάλιν ἰσχύσωσι, πάλιν ἡττηθήσονται , κατὰ τὸν σεμνόφωνον "προφήτην Ἡσαΐαν." Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ὁ μέγας Εὐστάθιος. ὁ δὲ τούτου συναγωνιστὴς καὶ τῆς ἀληθείας πρόβολος Ἀθανάσιος, ὁ τῆς Ἀλεξάνδρου τοῦ πανευ 35 φήμου προεδρίας διάδοχος, οἷς πρὸς τοὺς Ἄφρους ἐπιστέλλων γέγραφε καὶ ταῦτα προστέθεικε· "Τῶν γὰρ συνελθόντων ἐπισκόπων βουλομένων τὰς μὲν παρὰ "τῶν Ἀρειανῶν ἐφευρεθείσας τῆς ἀσεβείας λέξεις ἀνελεῖν, τὸ ἐξ οὐκ "ὄντων καὶ τὸ λέγειν κτίσμα καὶ ποίημα τὸν υἱὸν καὶ τὸ ἦν ποτε "ὅτε οὐκ ἦν καὶ ὅτι τρεπτῆς ἐστι φύσεως, τὰς δὲ τῶν γραφῶν ὁμο "λογουμένας γράψαι, ὅτι τε ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ὁ υἱὸς φύσει μονογενής ἐστι, "λόγος, δύναμις, σοφία μόνη τοῦ πατρός, " θεὸς ἀληθινός ", ὡς "εἶπεν ὁ Ἰωάννης, καὶ ὡς ἔγραψεν ὁ Παῦλος " ἀπαύγασμα τῆς "δόξης καὶ χαρακτὴρ τῆς τοῦ πατρὸς ὑποστάσεως ", οἱ περὶ "Εὐσέβιον ὑπὸ τῆς ἰδίας κακοδοξίας ἑλκόμενοι διελάλουν ἀλλήλοις· ""συνθώμεθα· καὶ γὰρ καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐσμεν· " εἷς γὰρ θεὸς "ἐξ οὗ τὰ πάντα ", καὶ " τὰ ἀρχαῖα παρῆλθεν, ἰδού, γέγονε τὰ "πάντα καινά. τὰ δὲ πάντα ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ". Ἐλογίζοντο δὲ καὶ "τὸ ἐν τῷ Ποιμένι γραφέν· " πρῶτον πάντων πίστευσον ὅτι εἷς "ἐστιν ὁ θεός, ὁ τὰ πάντα κτίσας καὶ καταρτίσας, καὶ ποιή "σας ἐκ τοῦ μὴ ὄντος εἰς τὸ εἶναι ". ἀλλ' οἱ ἐπίσκοποι, θεωρή "σαντες τὴν κακουργίαν ἐκείνων καὶ τὴν τῆς ἀσεβείας κακοτεχνίαν, "λευκότερον εἰρήκασι τὸ ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ ἔγραψαν ἐκ τῆς οὐσίας τοῦ