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wills following these, by which a dyad of persons is necessarily introduced; but neither again one, unable to be considered simple; but one will, and every divine and human energy we say proceeds from one and the same God the Word incarnate, 0052 according to Severus. Against whom someone might indignantly bring that part of the prophecy: O, O, flee from the North; be saved to Zion, you who inhabit the daughter of Babylon. For truly the mind of Severus is the North, having become a gloomy place, and a dwelling deprived of the divine light. And the Daughter of Babylon is the confused teaching of false doctrines wickedly born from the worst disposition that came to him, which they inhabit who have 15Α_066 turned away from the light of knowledge, and are not willing to be saved through conversion to Zion, I mean the Church. For the argument of Severus, being tested, contends against both theology and the economy. For if according to him, the wills by nature follow the energies, and persons are introduced by the wills, as effects by causes—that I may not say what the proof is—and to every person, clearly, according to him, there is a will; and with this, a suitable energy will by all means be introduced. For the principle of relation, having an indissoluble connection, makes the reciprocal conversion of the relatives accordingly equal.

Therefore, since what is simply said is ambiguous, if the wills introduced to the persons by conversion were natural, the blessed Monad, according to Severus, will also be a Triad of natures. But if gnomic, it will certainly be in conflict with itself, not agreeing in its wills, as a Triad of persons; or certainly, if there is one will of the super-essential Trinity, there will be a one-personed, three-named Godhead.

And again, if according to the proposition of Severus a will by all means follows the energy, and with this a person is introduced, by necessity, when the energy is done away with, the will that follows it is also done away with, and the person introduced with this. But if with the energy, the will; and with the will, the person is done away with, Christ will be without hypostasis according to Severus; by the energy, since the person introduced by the will is destroyed along with the will that is destroyed with it.

And again, if according to him wills by all means follow the energies, and persons are introduced with the wills; and from one and the same God the Word 0053 incarnate he says proceeds every 15Α_068 divine and human energy; and every will according to him (clearly, both divine and human), as following the energies, together with the persons equal in number introduced with them, will certainly be brought forth together from one and the same Word incarnate; and no argument will contradict it.

Therefore, Christ according to Severus will be without substance by the removal of the natural energies; and by the rejection of the one, again without will and without hypostasis; and by the production of every divine and human energy, of many wills and many persons; or, to speak more properly, of infinite wills and infinite persons. For he who said "every energy" has made a declaration of innumerable quantity.

Therefore, according to the conversion of Severus's proposition, his account of theology has failed, by introducing Arian polytheism, and Sabellian atheism, and a nature of the godhead fighting with itself in a pagan manner; but according to the proposition, his account of the economy is clearly corrupted, presenting the one Christ as without substance, without will, without hypostasis, and again advocating for the same one as of infinite wills and of infinite persons; than which what is more impious?

Do you see where the rule of Severus leads those who are persuaded by it? For every such argument stands, not having invincible truth as its basis. But when you speak of one will of Christ, O best of men, how and of what kind do you say this is? If as a natural [will] of Christ,

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ἑπόμενα ταύταις θελήματα, οἷς ἐξ ἀνάγκης προσώπων συνεισάγεται δυάς· ἀλλ᾿ οὐδέ μίαν πάλιν, ἁπλῆν θεωρεῖσθαι μή δυναμένην· ἕν δέ θέλημα, καί πᾶσαν θείαν τε καί ἀνθρωπίνην ἐνέργειαν ἐξ ἑνός καί τοῦ αὐτοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγου σεσαρκωμένου, 0052 κατά Σευῆρον προϊέναι φαμέν. Πρός οὕς ἄν τις σχετλιαστικῶς ἐκεῖνο τῆς προφητείας ἐποίσει τό μέρος· Ὤ, ὤ, φεύγετε ἀπό Βοῤῥᾶ· εἰς Σιών ἀνασώζεσθε, οἱ κατοικοῦντες θυγατέρα Βαβυλῶνος. Βοῤῥᾶς γάρ ὡς ἀληθῶς Σευήρου διάνοια, τόπος γενομένη ζοφερός, καί τῆς τοῦ θείου φωτός ἐστερημένη διατριβῆς· Θυγάτηρ δέ Βαβυλῶνος, ἡ κακῶς ἐκ τῆς προσγενομένης αὐτῷ χειρίστης ἕξεως γεννηθεῖσα συγκεχυμένη τῶν ψευδῶν διδασκαλία δογμάτων, ἥν κατοικοῦσι οἱ τό φῶς 15Α_066 ἀπεστραμμένοι τῆς γνώσεως, καί πρός τήν Σιών, λέγω τήν Ἐκκλησίαν, ἀνασωθῆναι δι᾿ ἐπιστροφἠς οὐκ ἐθέλοντες. Ὁμοῦ γάρ τῆς τε θεολογίας καί τῆς οἰκονομίας, ὁ Σευήρου βασανιζόμενος καταγωνίζεται λόγος. Εἰ γάρ κατ᾿ αὐτόν, ταῖς ἐνεργείαις ἕπεσθαι τά θελήματα πέφυκε τοῖς δέ θελήμασιν εἰσάγεσθαι πρόσωπα, καθάπερ αἰτίοις αἰτιατά· ἵνα μή λέγω τίς ἡ ἀπόδειξις· καί παντί προσώπῳ δηλονότι, κατ' αὐτόν, θέλημα· καί τούτῳ πάντως ἐνέργεια συνεισαχθήσεται πρόσφορος. Ὁ γάρ τόν πρός τι, λόγος, ἄλυτον ἔχων τήν σχέσιν, ἴσην ποιεῖται τήν τῶν σχετῶν ἀκολούθως ἀντιστροφήν.

Οὐκοῦν ἐπειδή πολύσημόν ἐστι τό ἁπλῶς λεγόμενον, εἰ μέν φυσικά τά κατά ἀντιστροφήν συνεισαγόμενα τοῖς προσώποις εἶεν θελήματα, ἡ μακαρία Μονάς, κατά Σευῆρον, καί φύσεων ἔσται Τριάς. Εἰ δέ γνωμικά, στασιάσει πάντως πρός ἑαυτήν μή συμβαίνουσα τοῖς θελήμασιν, ὡς προσώπων Τριάς· ἤ πάντως, εἴπερ ἕν θέλημα τῆς ὑπερουσίου Τριάδος ἐστί, μονοπρόσωπος ἔσται Θεότης τριώνυμος.

Καί πάλιν, εἰ τῇ ἐνεργείᾳ πάντως κατά τήν Σευήρου πρότασιν ἕπεται θέλημα· τούτῳ δέ συνεισάγεται πρόσωπον, ἐξ ἀνάγκης ἀναιρεθείσῃ τῇ ἐνεργείᾳ, καί τό ἑπόμενον αὐτῇ συνανῄρηται θέλημα, καί τό τούτῳ συνεισαγόμενον πρόσωπον. Εἰ δέ τῇ μέν ἐνεργείᾳ, τό θέλημα· τῷ δέ θελήματι, συναιρεῖται τό πρόσωπον, ἀνυπόστατος ἔσται κατά Σευῆρον ὁ Χριστός· τῇ ἐνεργείᾳ, διά τό συναιρούμενον αὐτῇ θέλημα τοῦ συνεισαγομένου τῷ θελήματι προσώπου συναναιρεθέντος.

Καί πάλιν, εἰ ταῖς ἐνεργείαις κατ᾿ αὐτόν ἕπεται πάντως θελήματα, τοῖς δέ θελήμασι συνεισάγεται πρόσωπα· ἐξ ἑνός δέ καί τοῦ αὐτοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγου 0053 σεσαρκωμένου προϊέναι φησί πᾶσαν 15Α_068 θείαν καί ἀνθρωπίνην ἐνέργειαν· καί πᾶν θέλημα κατ᾿ αὐτόν (δηλονότι θεῖόν τε καί ἀνθρώπινον), ὡς ταῖς ἐνεργείαις ἑπόμενον μετά τῶν ἰσαρίθμως συνεισαγομένον αὐτοῖς προσώπων, ἐξ ἑνός καί τοῦ αὐτοῦ Λόγου σεσαρκωμένου πάντως συμπροαχθήσεται· καί οὐδείς ἀντερεῖ λόγος.

Ἔσται τοιγαροῦν τῇ μέν ἀναιρέσει τῶν φυσικῶν ἐνεργειῶν ὁ Χριστός κατά Σευῆρον, ἀνούσιος· τῇ δέ παραγραφῇ τῆς μιᾶς, πάλιν ἄβουλος καί ἀνυπόστατος· καί τῇ πάσῃ προαγωγῇ θείας τε καί ἀνθρωπίνης ἐνεργείας, πολύβουλός τε καί πολυπρόσωπος· ἤ τό γε κυριώτερον εἰπεῖν, ἀπειρόβουλός τε καί ἀπειροπρόσωπος. Ὁ γάρ πᾶσαν φήσας ἐνέργειαν, ποσότητος πεποίηκε δήλωσιν ἀναρίθμητον.

Οὐκοῦν κατά μέν τήν ἀντιστροφήν τῆς Σευήρου προτάσεως, ὁ τῆς θεολογίας αὐτῷ διαπέπτωκε λόγος, Ἀρειανήν πολυθεΐαν, καί Σαβελλιανήν ἀθεΐαν, καί μαχομένην ἑλληνικῶς ἑαυτῇ φύσιν θεότητος εἰσηγουμένῳ· κατά δέ τήν πρότασιν, σαφῶς ὁ τῆς οἰκονομίας αὐτῷ νενόθευται λόγος, τόν ἕνα Χριστόν ἀνούσιον, ἄβουλον, ἀνυπόστατον· καί πάλιν τόν αὐτόν ἀπειρόβουλόν τε πρεσβεύοντι καί ἀπειροπρόσωπον· οὗ τί δυσσεβέστερον;

Ὁρᾶτε ποῦ φέρων ὁ Σευήρου κανών ἀπάγει τούς πειθομένους; Τοιοῦτος γάρ ἅπας καθέστηκε λόγος, τήν ἀήττητον βάσιν οὐκ ἔχων ἀλήθειαν. Ἕν δέ Χριστοῦ θέλημα λέγων, ὦ βέλτιστε, πῶς καί ποῖον τοῦτο φής; Εἰ μέν ὡς Χριστοῦ φυσικόν,