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was begotten, co-existing and co-operating with his own true father, as the light with the solar disc. 16.4 And he has it from the scriptures to be testified as God, Lord, holy, creator, incorruptible, life, light, and all that the Father is. 16.5 And from the majority of these, he ought to be held as like and equal, rather than from one, unlike. 16.6 And how have Adam and Eve, who were not begotten nor had a father, become equal in nature to us who are from them? 16.7 Or by what simple comparison of what they call the unlike, or how by measuring did they arrive at the 'superior and greater'? Since scripture neither defines by nature the holy and unoriginate, one and indivisible trinity, nor again does it assign to it what is first and what is after? 16.8 And since these two things are clear, that the greater is not in every case of a different substance, and that in general comparatives are said of things of the same substance, but not of things of a different substance. 16.9 Nor could they say opportunely, even at a guess, that it is not even about the 'incomparable and greater'. 16.10 Not according to magnitude or any bulk; for the God Logos is without magnitude and breadth, and has withdrawn from all quantity and composition and shape, just as also the Father and his Holy Spirit, and is contained by nothing, but himself contains all things. 16.11 because he is also the beginning of all magnitudes as their maker. For where is magnitude in the highest and super-incorporeal and superior hypostases? 16.12 Nor according to being without beginning. For he co-exists with the Father as 'the radiance of his glory' and not having a God before himself. 16.13 For he says: 'in the beginning was the Word'. And God the maker is not measured by time along with his creation. 16.14 since it would be necessary for them—which is perilous even to think—first to posit a time before the unoriginate and incomprehensible God and Father and so to make a comparison. 16.15 But men are accustomed to call 'greater' those who are prior in time of birth, as ordained in the case of Isaac: 'the greater shall serve the lesser'. 16.16 Nor as cause. For he is not his cause. For the only-begotten Son was also shown to be without beginning; since he would be greater than him and us alike, which may it not be said or heard. 16.17 Nor according to substance and likeness. For he is from him 'as the only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth,' and as 'the express image of his person' being the express image in all things, and as 'the image of God', whom 'he who has seen has seen the Father'. 'For in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead'. 16.18 And this is confirmed by the testimony: 'let us make man in our image and likeness'. 16.19 Nor according to an intensity of quality, since the divine and ineffable hypostases are not qualities; for quality is in bodies, but they are incorporeal and intelligible. 16.20 But it cannot even be conceived concerning them, that there could be something more beautiful than the beautiful and better than the more beautiful, similarly to the voice of Paul speaking about another matter: 'but now these three remain: faith, hope, love; but the greatest of these is love'. 16.21 For because of the intensity toward virtue he assigned 'greater' to love. For having loved, he says, we believe, and having believed we hope to reign with Christ. 16.22 For if 'one God' is true, and 'that you might become partakers of the divine nature' and not: natures, it has been shown that that which is altogether beautiful is also one, I mean: the Godhead. 16.23 Nor with respect to equality, because it is written that the Son is great and 'over all', 'God', 'making himself equal to the Father' and 'swearing by himself, since he has no one greater'. 16.24 Nor according to power. For it is written: 'Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God', and 'whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise'. 16.25 Nor according to glory or any rank. 'For if they had known,' he says, 'they would not have crucified the Lord of glory'. And it is the will of the Father according to John, 'that all should honor the Son, just as they honor the Father'. 16.26 In what respect, then, remains the greater and unlike? As has been shown, in none. 16.27 And so the apostle, checking the impious suppositions of heretics regarding the only-begotten Son and God, but the identity of nature with his Father, and moreover

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ἐτέχθη, συνυπάρχων καὶ συμπράττων τῷ ἑαυτοῦ ἀληθινῷ πατρί, ὡς τὸ φῶς τῷ ἡλιακῷ δίσκῳ. 16.4 ἔχει δὲ τὸ εἶναι καὶ ἀπὸ γραφῶν μαρτυρεῖσθαι θεός, κύριος, ἅγιος, δημιουργός, ἄφθαρτος, ζωή, φῶς καὶ πάντα ὅσα ὁ πατήρ. 16.5 καὶ μᾶλλον ἐκ τῶν πλειόνων τὸ ὅμοιον καὶ ἴσον ἔχειν ὀφείλει ἤπερ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἑνὸς τὸ ἀνόμοιον. 16.6 Πῶς δὲ ὁ Ἀδὰμ καὶ ἡ Εὔα οὐ γεννηθέντες οὐδὲ πατέρα ἐσχηκότες τοῖς ἐξ αὐτῶν ἡμῖν ἴσοι τῇ φύσει γεγόνασιν; 16.7 ἢ ποίαν ἁπλῶς παράθεσιν ποιησάμενοι τοῦ ὡς λέγουσιν ἀνομοίου ἢ πῶς παραμετρήσαντες ἐπέστησαν τῷ «κρείττονι καὶ μείζονι»; γραφῆς μὲν οὔτε διοριζούσης τῇ φύσει τὴν ἁγίαν καὶ ἄναρχον μίαν καὶ ἀμέριστον τριάδα, οὐδ' αὖ πάλιν ἀφοριζούσης αὐτῇ τὸ πρώτιστα καὶ τὸ ἔπειτα; 16.8 δήλων δὲ ὄντων δύο τούτων, ὅτι τε οὐ πάντως τὸ μεῖζον ἑτεροούσιόν ἐστι, καὶ ὅτι καθ' ὅλου τὰ συγκριτικὰ ἐπὶ ὁμοουσίων, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐπὶ ἑτεροουσίων λέγεται. 16.9 οὐκ ἂν δὲ οὐδ' ἐξ ἐπιβολῆς εἴποιεν καίριον, ὅτι οὐδὲ περὶ τοῦ «ἀσυγκρίτου καὶ μείζονος». 16.10 Οὐ κατὰ μέγεθος ἤ τινα ὄγκον· ἀμεγέθης γὰρ καὶ ἀπλατής ἐστιν καὶ πηλικότητος πάσης καὶ συνθέσεως καὶ σχήματος ἀναχωρήσας ὁ θεὸς λόγος, καθὰ καὶ ὁ πατὴρ καὶ τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα αὐτοῦ, καὶ ὑπὸ μηδενὸς μὲν περιεχόμενος αὐτός, πάντα δὲ ἐμπεριέχων. 16.11 διότι καὶ πάντων ἀρχὴ μεγεθῶν ὡς ποιητής ἐστιν. ποῦ γὰρ ἐν ταῖς ἀκροτάταις καὶ ὑπερασωμάτοις καὶ κρείττοσιν ὑποστάσεσιν μέγεθος; 16.12 Οὐδὲ κατὰ τὸ ἄναρχον. συνυπάρχει γὰρ τῷ πατρὶ ὡς «ἀπαύγασμα τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ» καὶ μὴ ἔχων πρὸ αὐτοῦ θεόν. 16.13 καὶ γάρ φησιν· «ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος». καὶ οὐδὲ συμμετρεῖται χρόνῳ θεὸς καὶ ποιητὴς ποιήματι. 16.14 ἐπεὶ ἀνάγκη αὐτοὺς ἀπαιτεῖ- ὅπερ καὶ ἐννοεῖν σφαλερόν-πρότερον ὑποστῆσαι τοῦ ἀνάρχου καὶ ἀπερινοήτου θεοῦ καὶ πατρὸς χρόνον καὶ οὕτω συγκρίνειν. 16.15 ἄνθρωποι δὲ εἰώθασι «μείζονας» καλεῖν τοὺς χρόνῳ τὴν γένεσιν προειληφότας, κατὰ τὸν Ἰσαὰκ διαταττόμενον· «ὁ μείζων δουλεύσει τῷ ἐλάττονι». 16.16 Οὐδὲ ὡς αἴτιος. οὐ γὰρ αἴτιος αὐτοῦ. ἄναρχος γὰρ καὶ ὁ μονογενὴς υἱὸς ἐδείχθη· ἐπεὶ ὁμοίως αὐτοῦ τε καὶ ἡμῶν μείζων, ὅπερ μὴ γένοιτο εἰπεῖν ἢ ἀκοῦσαι. 16.17 Οὐδὲ κατὰ τὴν οὐσίαν καὶ τὸ ὅμοιον. ἐξ αὐτοῦ γάρ «ὡς μονογενὴς παρὰ πατρός, πλήρης χάριτος καὶ ἀληθείας», καὶ ὡς «χαρακτὴρ τῆς ὑποστάσεως» πρὸς ἅπαντα ὢν χαρακτὴρ, καὶ ὡς «εἰκὼν τοῦ θεοῦ», ἣν «ὁ ἑωρακὼς ἑώρακε τὸν πατέρα». «ἐν αὐτῷ γὰρ κατοι κεῖ πᾶν τὸ πλήρωμα τῆς θεότητος». 16.18 ἐπισπᾶται δὲ τοῦτο μαρτυρίᾳ καὶ τὸ «ποιήσωμεν ἄνθρωπον κατ' εἰκόνα καὶ ὁμοίωσιν ἡμετέραν». 16.19 Οὐδὲ κατὰ ποιότητος ἐπίτασιν, ἐπεὶ μὴ ποιότητες αἱ θεῖαι καὶ ἀπόρρητοι ὑποστάσεις· ἐν σώμασι γὰρ ἡ ποιότης· αἱ δὲ ἀσώματοι καὶ νοηταί. 16.20 Ἀλλὰ μηδὲ νοεῖσθαι δύναται περὶ αὐτῶν, ὡς εἴη τοῦ καλοῦ κάλλιον καὶ τοῦ καλλίονος βέλτιον, παραπλησίως τῇ περὶ ἄλλου λεγούσῃ Παύλου φωνῇ· «νυνὶ δὲ μένει τὰ τρία ταῦτα· πίστις, ἐλπίς, ἀγάπη· μείζων δὲ τούτων ἡ ἀγάπη». 16.21 διὰ γὰρ τὴν εἰς ἀρετὴν ἐπίτασιν ἀπένειμεν τῇ ἀγάπῃ τὸ «μείζων». ἀγαπήσαντες γάρ, φησί, πιστεύομεν καὶ πιστεύσαντες ἐλπίζομεν συμβασιλεῦσαι τῷ Χριστῷ. 16.22 εἰ γὰρ ἀληθὲς τό «εἷς θέος» καὶ τό «ἵνα γένησθε θείας κοινωνοὶ φύσεως» καὶ οὐχί· φύσεων, ἓν εἶναι καὶ τὸ καθάπαξ καλὸν ἀποδέδεικται, φημὶ δέ· ἡ θεότης. 16.23 Οὐδὲ κατὰ τὸ ἴσον, διότι μέγας καί «ἐπὶ πάντων» γέγραπται, «θεός» ὁ υἱός, «ἴσον ἑαυτὸν ποιῶν τῷ πατρί» καί «ὀμνύων καθ' ἑαυτοῦ, ἐπειδὴ μὴ ἔχει τὸν μείζονα». 16.24 Οὐδὲ κατὰ τὴν δύναμιν. γέγραπται γάρ· «Χριστὸν θεοῦ δύναμιν καὶ θεοῦ σοφίαν», καί «πάντα ὅσα ἂν ποιῇ ὁ πατὴρ καὶ ὁ υἱὸς ὁμοίως ποιεῖ». 16.25 Οὐδὲ κατὰ τὴν δόξαν ἤ τι ἀξίωμα. «εἰ γὰρ ᾔδεσαν», φησίν, «οὐκ ἂν τὸν κύριον τῆς δόξης ἐσταύρωσαν». καὶ θέλημά ἐστιν τοῦ πατρὸς κατὰ τὸν Ἰωάννην, «ἵνα πάντες τιμῶσι τὸν υἱόν, καθὼς τιμῶσι τὸν πατέρα». 16.26 κατὰ τί οὖν λοιπὸν τὸ μείζω καὶ ἀνόμοιον; ὡς ἐδείχθη, κατ' οὐδέν. 16.27 καὶ γοῦν ὁ ἀπόστολος τὰς εἰς τὸν μονογενῆ υἱὸν καὶ θεὸν ἀσεβεῖς ὑπολήψει αἱρετικῶν ἀναστέλλων, τὴν δὲ πρὸς τὸν πατέρα αὐτοῦ τῆς φύσεως ταυτότητα ἔτι δὲ