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is transcendently removed from beings (for it is none of the things that are, but is above all things). But those things said cataphatically are predicated of it as the cause of all things; for as cause of all substance and all beings, it is called both being and substance, and as cause of all reason and wisdom, of the rational and wise, it is called reason and rational, wisdom and wise, likewise also mind and intelligent, life and living, power and powerful, and similarly for all the rest; or rather, it will be named more appropriately from those things that are more honorable and nearer to it. The immaterial are more honorable than the material, the pure than the defiled, the holy than the profane, and they are nearer to it, since they also partake more of it. Therefore it will be more appropriately named sun and light rather than darkness, and day rather than night, and life rather than death, and fire and spirit and water as life-giving rather than earth, and above all and more so goodness rather than evil, —which is the same as to say—being rather than non-being; for the good is existence and the cause of existence, but evil is the privation of good, that is, of existence. And these are the negations; but sweetest also is the combination of both, such as the super-essential essence, the super-divine divinity, the super-original origin and such like. There are also some things said of God cataphatically which have the force of a transcendent negation, such as darkness; not because God is darkness, but because He is not light but is beyond light. -God is therefore called mind and reason and spirit, wisdom and power, as being the cause of these, and as immaterial, and as all-creating and all-powerful. And these things are said in common of the whole Godhead, both those said negatively and those said affirmatively. And of each of the hypostases of the Holy Trinity likewise and in the same way and without omission; for when I conceive of one of the hypostases, I know it to be perfect God, perfect substance. But when I conjoin and co-number the three, I know one perfect God; the Godhead is not composite, but in three perfect ones is one perfect, indivisible and uncompounded. But when I conceive of the relation of the hypostases to one another, I know that the Father is the super-essential sun, the fount of goodness, the abyss of essence, of reason, of wisdom, of power, of light, of divinity, the begetting and projecting source of the good hidden in it. He Himself then is mind, abyss of reason, begetter of the Word, and through the Word the projector of the revealing Spirit, and not to say much; the Father has no reason, wisdom, power, will, except the Son, who is the only power of the Father, the pre-eminent principle of the creation of all things. He, as a perfect hypostasis begotten as He Himself knows, is and is called Son. And the Holy Spirit is the revealing power of the hidden divinity of the Father, proceeding from the Father through the Son, as He knows, but not by generation; wherefore also the Holy Spirit is the perfecting power of the creation of all things. Therefore, all that is proper to a Father who is cause, fount, and begetter, must be attributed to the Father alone; all that is proper to a caused, begotten Son, Word, pre-eminent power, will, wisdom, to the Son; and all that is proper to a caused, proceeding, revealing, perfecting power, to the Holy Spirit. The Father is the fount and cause of the Son and of the Spirit, Father of the Son alone and projector of the Spirit; the Son is Son, Word, wisdom and power, image, radiance, character of the Father and from the Father, but not Son of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Father as proceeding from the Father (for no impulse is without spirit) and also Spirit of the Son, not as from Him, but as proceeding through Him from the Father; for the Father alone is cause.

13 Concerning the place of God, and that only the divine is uncircumscribed. Place is

a corporeal limit of that which contains, by which that which is contained is contained, for instance the air contains this body. Not all of the containing air is the place of the contained body, but the boundary of the containing air that is in contact with the contained body; and in any case, that which contains is not in that which is contained. There is also an intelligible place, where an intelligible and incorporeal nature is conceived and is, where it is present and

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ὑπεροχικῶς τῶν ὄντων ἐξῄρηται (οὐδὲν γὰρ τῶν ὄντων, ἀλλ' ὑπὲρ πάντα ἐστί). Τὰ δὲ καταφατικῶς λεγόμενα ὡς αἰτίου τῶν πάντων κατηγορεῖται· ὡς γὰρ αἴτιος πάσης οὐσίας καὶ πάντων τῶν ὄντων λέγεται καὶ ὢν καὶ οὐσία, καὶ ὡς αἴτιος λόγου παντὸς καὶ σοφίας λογικοῦ τε καὶ σοφοῦ λέγεται λόγος καὶ λογικός, σοφία καὶ σοφός, ὁμοίως καὶ νοῦς καὶ νοερός, ζωὴ καὶ ζῶν, δύναμις καὶ δυνατός, καὶ ἐπὶ πάντων τῶν λοιπῶν ὁμοίως, μᾶλλον δὲ ἐκ τῶν τιμιωτέρων καὶ πλησιαζόντων αὐτῷ οἰκειοτέρως ὀνομασθήσεται. Τιμιώτερα δὲ τὰ ἄυλα τῶν ὑλικῶν καὶ τὰ καθαρὰ τῶν ῥυπαρῶν καὶ τὰ ἅγια τῶν ἐναγῶν, καὶ μᾶλλον αὐτῷ πλησιάζοντα, ἐπεὶ καὶ πλέον μετέχουσιν αὐτοῦ. Οἰκειότερον οὖν μᾶλλον ὀνομασθήσεται ἥλιος καὶ φῶς ἤπερ σκότος, καὶ ἡμέρα ἤπερ νύξ, καὶ ζωὴ ἤπερ θάνατος, καὶ πῦρ καὶ πνεῦμα καὶ ὕδωρ ὡς ζωτικὰ ἤπερ γῆ, καὶ πρὸ πάντων καὶ πλέον ἀγαθότης ἤπερ κακία, -ταὐτὸν δὲ εἰπεῖν-ὢν ἤπερ μὴ ὤν· τὸ γὰρ ἀγαθὸν ὕπαρξις καὶ ὑπάρξεως αἴτιον, τὸ δὲ κακὸν ἀγαθοῦ ἤτοι ὑπάρξεως στέρησις. Καὶ αὗται μὲν αἱ ἀποφάσεις· γλυκυτάτη δὲ καὶ ἡ ἐξ ἀμφοῖν συνάφεια οἷον ἡ ὑπερούσιος οὐσία, ἡ ὑπέρθεος θεότης, ἡ ὑπεράρχιος ἀρχὴ καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα. Εἰσὶ δὲ καί τινα καταφατικῶς ἐπὶ θεοῦ λεγόμενα δύναμιν ὑπεροχικῆς ἀποφάσεως ἔχοντα οἷον σκότος· οὐχ ὅτι ὁ θεὸς σκότος ἐστίν, ἀλλ' ὅτι οὐκ ἔστι φῶς ἀλλ' ὑπὲρ τὸ φῶς. -Λέγεται μὲν οὖν ὁ θεὸς νοῦς καὶ λόγος καὶ πνεῦμα σοφία τε καὶ δύναμις ὡς τούτων αἴτιος καὶ ὡς ἄυλος καὶ ὡς παντουργὸς καὶ παντοδύναμος. Καὶ ταῦτα κοινῶς ἐπὶ πάσης λέγεται τῆς θεότητος τά τε ἀποφατικῶς καὶ καταφατικῶς λεγόμενα. Καὶ ἐφ' ἑκάστης τῶν τῆς ἁγίας τριάδος ὑποστάσεων ὁμοίως καὶ ὡσαύτως καὶ ἀπαραλείπτως· ὅταν γὰρ ἐννοήσω μίαν τῶν ὑποστάσεων, τέλειον θεὸν αὐτὴν οἶδα, τελείαν οὐσίαν. Ὅταν δὲ συνάψω καὶ συναριθμήσω τὰ τρία, ἕνα θεὸν οἶδα τέλειον· οὐ σύνθετόν ἐστιν ἡ θεότης, ἀλλ' ἐν τρισὶ τελείοις ἓν τέλειον ἀμερὲς καὶ ἀσύνθετον. Ὅταν δὲ τὴν πρὸς ἄλληλα σχέσιν τῶν ὑποστάσεων ἐννοήσω, οἶδα, ὅτι ἐστὶν ὁ πατὴρ ὑπερούσιος ἥλιος, πηγὴ ἀγαθότητος, ἄβυσσος οὐσίας, λόγου, σοφίας, δυνάμεως, φωτός, θεότητος, πηγὴ γεννητικὴ καὶ προβλητικὴ τοῦ ἐν αὐτῇ κρυφίου ἀγαθοῦ. Αὐτὸς μὲν οὖν ἐστι νοῦς, λόγου ἄβυσσος, λόγου γεννήτωρ καὶ διὰ λόγου προβολεὺς ἐκφαντορικοῦ πνεύματος, καὶ ἵνα μὴ πολλὰ λέγω· οὐκ ἔστι τῷ πατρὶ λόγος, σοφία, δύναμις, θέλησις, εἰ μὴ ὁ υἱός, ὅς ἐστιν ἡ μόνη δύναμις τοῦ πατρὸς ἡ προκαταρκτικὴ τῆς τῶν πάντων ποιήσεως. Οὗτος ὡς τελεία ὑπόστασις γεννωμένη, ὡς οἶδεν αὐτός, υἱός ἐστι τε καὶ λέγεται. Τὸ δὲ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον ἐκφαντορικὴ τοῦ κρυφίου τῆς θεότητος δύναμις τοῦ πατρός, ἐκ πατρὸς μὲν δι' υἱοῦ ἐκπορευομένη, ὡς οἶδεν, οὐ γεννητῶς· διὸ καὶ πνεῦμα ἅγιον τὸ τελεσιουργὸν τῆς τῶν ἁπάντων ποιήσεως. Ὅσα οὖν ἁρμόζει αἰτίῳ πατρί, πηγῇ, γεννήτορι, τῷ πατρὶ μόνῳ προσαρμοστέον· ὅσα δὲ αἰτιατῷ, γεννητῷ υἱῷ, λόγῳ, δυνάμει προκαταρκτικῇ, θελήσει, σοφίᾳ, τῷ υἱῷ· ὅσα δὲ αἰτιατῷ, ἐκπορευτῷ, ἐκφαντορικῷ, τελεσιουργικῇ δυνάμει, τῷ ἁγίῳ πνεύματι. Ὁ πατὴρ πηγὴ καὶ αἰτία υἱοῦ καὶ πνεύματος, πατὴρ δὲ μόνου υἱοῦ καὶ προβολεὺς πνεύματος· ὁ υἱὸς υἱός, λόγος, σοφία καὶ δύναμις, εἰκών, ἀπαύγασμα, χαρακτὴρ τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ ἐκ τοῦ πατρός, οὐχ υἱὸς δὲ τοῦ πνεύματος. Τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα τοῦ πατρὸς ὡς ἐκ πατρὸς ἐκπορευόμενον (οὐδεμία γὰρ ὁρμὴ ἄνευ πνεύματος) καὶ υἱοῦ δὲ πνεῦμα οὐχ ὡς ἐξ αὐτοῦ, ἀλλ' ὡς δι' αὐτοῦ ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς ἐκπορευόμενον· μόνος γὰρ αἴτιος ὁ πατήρ.

13 Περὶ τόπου θεοῦ καὶ ὅτι μόνον τὸ θεῖον ἀπερίγραπτον Τόπος ἐστὶ

σωματικὸς πέρας τοῦ περιέχοντος, καθ' ὃ περιέχεται τὸ περιεχόμενον, οἷον ὁ ἀὴρ περιέχει τόδε τὸ σῶμα. Οὐχ ὅλος ὁ περιέχων ἀὴρ τόπος ἐστὶ τοῦ περιεχομένου σώματος, ἀλλὰ τὸ τέλος τοῦ περιέχοντος ἀέρος τὸ ἐφαπτόμενον τοῦ περιεχομένου σώματος· πάντως δέ, ὅτι τὸ περιέχον οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν τῷ περιεχομένῳ. Ἔστι δὲ καὶ νοητὸς τόπος, ἔνθα νοεῖται καὶ ἔστιν ἡ νοητὴ καὶ ἀσώματος φύσις, ἔνθα πάρεστι καὶ