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receiving, are made like Nebuchadnezzar who fashioned a creator, a lifeless image, to be worshipped. 16.49 And God justly cast Adam out of paradise on account of his disobedience; 16.50 but the Son brought in the thief and with him Adam and the whole common race, as being in every way equal in divinity and goodness and lordship to the one who cast out. 16.51 But where has it been written that "the Father is incomparable" to his own only-begotten, or that his Son, also creator and judge of all things, according to his divine and from all things transcendent infinite nature, is a "creature"? Or at all that once "he was not"? 16.52 Or where did the Father specifically say, "I created a son for myself," or the Son, "I was created by the Father"? 16.53 which to hear, let alone to say, is dreadful and to be shunned. 16.54 Therefore nowhere at all in divine and spiritual scripture are these things found; but on the contrary, all the words of the only-begotten concerning his divinity are of one who compares himself to the Father and unites himself and declares himself of equal honor. 16.55 But he is never called child or infant or offspring according to the infinite generation from above, which nothing at all can characterize, so that nothing small or providing a pretext for their aforementioned sophistical blasphemies might be imagined by anyone, but Son, because of his perfection and his being begotten without beginning and the unchangeableness of his nature with respect to the Father. 16.56 But all things thought by some to be small with respect to his divinity, including "the Father who sent me is greater than I," have been declared in the sacred books on account of his philanthropic and ineffable incarnation, which was for our sake and on our behalf. 16.57 on account of which it is also written that he was made lower than the angels, according to the apostle who wrote: "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death." 16.58 I think, therefore, and I am not at all mistaken, that he spoke about the Father and himself, showing the goodness and consubstantiality of both: "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree rotten and its fruit rotten; for from the fruit," he says, "the tree is known."

17.1 And since, fighting against God, some, along with the Son, also the Holy Spirit the

first creature dare to say is, but Macedonius, the Spirit alone, may the holy and consubstantial Trinity turn upon them indeed the weight of remembering such maddened and condemned words,

17.2 but we, by citing the divine scriptures, will show that the first creature of God came to be thus: the first creature, having been lifted up, was cast from the heavens like lightning, just as he who created him well and later justly cast him out beheld in the gospel: 17.3 For he says thus in Job: "But behold the beast beside you eating grass like oxen; behold, his strength is in his loins, and his power on the navel of his belly. He sets up his tail like a cypress, and his sinews are woven together, his ribs are of bronze, and his spine is of cast iron. This is the beginning of the creation of the Lord, made to be mocked by the angels." 17.4 so it says the devil is the first creature, having made himself to be mocked by the holy angels on account of his unholy and evil-counseled choice. But the Son, who also created him, would not have been created after him, nor indeed was the Spirit of God created. 18. Concerning the Holy Trinity, and that because of the sameness of substance the same names are said of both hypostases, except for paternity and sonship and the procession of the Spirit. For this is distinctly proper to each hypostasis. And that sometimes the Father, sometimes the Son, sometimes the Spirit is placed first. And that both the triadic and the monadic are shown in scripture. 18.1 From all that has been said, therefore, it is established that their views are in every way alien to the truth. For it is the work of sophistry to invent arguments, but of wisdom to with

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λαμβάνοντες, ἐξομοιοῦνται τῷ Ναβουχοδονόσωρ ποιητὴν ἄψυχον εἰκόνα προσκυνεῖσθαι τυπώσαντι. 16.49 Καὶ τὸν Ἀδὰμ δὲ διὰ τὴν παρακοὴν ἐκ τοῦ παραδείσου ὁ θεὸς δικαίως ἔρριψεν· 16.50 τὸν δὲ λῃστὴν καὶ σὺν αὐτῷ τὸν Ἀδὰμ καὶ τὸ κοινὸν ὅλον γένος ὁ υἱὸς εἰσήγαγεν, ὡς ἴσος πάντως τῇ θεότητι καὶ ἀγαθότητι καὶ δεσποτεία τῷ ῥίψαντι τυγχάνων. 16.51 Ποῦ δὲ ἐγράφη ὅτι «ἀσύγκριτος ὁ πατὴρ» πρὸς τὸν ἑαυτοῦ μονογενῆ ἢ ὅτι ὁ υἱὸς αὐτοῦ καὶ τῶν πάντων δημιουργὸς καὶ κριτὴς κατὰ τὴν θεϊκὴν αὐτοῦ καὶ ὅλων ἐξῃρημένην ἄπειρον φύσιν «κτίσμα» ἐστίν; ἢ ὅλως ὅτι ποτὲ «οὐκ ἦν»; 16.52 ἢ ποῦ ἰδικῶς ἔφη ὁ πατήρ. «ἔκτισά μοι υἱόν» ἢ ὁ υἱός· «ἐκτίσθην ὑπὸ τοῦ πατρός»; 16.53 ὅπερ ἀκούειν μήτιγε καὶ λέγειν φρικτὸν καὶ φευκτόν. 16.54 Οὐδαμοῦ μὲν οὖν παντελῶς θείας καὶ πνευματικῆς γραφῆς εὕρηται ταῦτα· τοὐναντίον δὲ συγκρίνοντος ἑαυτὸν πρὸς τὸν πατέρα ἐστὶν πάντα τοῦ μονογενοῦς τὰ περὶ τῆς θεότητος αὐτοῦ ῥήματα καὶ ἑνοῦντος ἑαυτὸν καὶ ὁμότιμον ἀποφαίνοντος. 16.55 ἀλλ' οὐδὲ τέκνον ἢ παιδίον ἢ γέννημα εἴρηται πώποτε κατὰ τὴν ἄνω ἄπειρον γέννησιν ἣν οὐδὲν τὸ παράπαν χαρακτηρίσαι δύναται, ἵνα μή τι μικρὸν ἢ ὑπόνοιαν παρέχον ταῖς προλεχθείσαις αὐτῶν σεσοφισμέναις βλασφημίαις φαντασθείῃ τις, ἀλλ' υἱὸς διὰ τὸ τέλειον καὶ τὸ ἀνάρχως γεννηθῆναι καὶ τὸ πρὸς τὸν πατέρα τῆς φύσεως ἀπαράλλακτον. 16.56 Ὅλα δὲ τὰ νομιζόμενα παρά τισιν εἶναι πρὸς θεότητα μικρὰ καὶ τό «ὁ πέμψας με πατὴρ μείζων μού ἐστιν» διὰ τὴν φιλάνθρωπον καὶ ἄρρητον ἐνανθρώπησιν αὐτοῦ τὴν δι' ἡμᾶς καὶ ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν γενομένην ταῖς ἱεραῖς κεχρησμῴδηται βίβλοις. 16.57 δι' ἣν καὶ ἀγγέλων ἠλαττῶσθαι γέγραπται κατὰ τὸν ἀπόστολον ἐπιστείλαντα· «τὸν δὲ βραχύ τι παρ' ἀγγέλους ἠλαττωμένον βλέπομεν Ἰησοῦν διὰ τὸ πάθη μα τοῦ θανάτου». 16.58 Ἐγὼ οὖν οἶμαι καὶ οὐ πάντως διασφάλλομαι, ὅτι περὶ τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ ἑαυτοῦ εἶπεν τὴν ἀμφοῖν δεικνὺς ἀγαθότητα καὶ ὁμοουσιότητα· «ἢ ποιήσατε τὸ δένδρον καλὸν καὶ τὸν καρπὸν αὐτοῦ καλὸν ἢ ποιήσατε τὸ δένδρον σαπρὸν καὶ τὸν καρπὸν αὐτοῦ σαπρόν· ἐκ γὰρ τοῦ καρποῦ», φησίν, «τὸ δένδρον γινώσκεται».

17.1 Ἐπειδὴ δὲ θεομαχοῦντες οἱ μὲν σὺν τῷ υἱῷ καὶ τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα τὸ

πρῶτον κτίσμα εἶναι λέγειν τολμῶσιν, Μακεδόνιος δὲ τὸ πνεῦμα μόνον, ἐπ' ἐκείνους μὲν τὸ βάρος τοῦ ἐπιμνησθῆναι τῶν τοιούτων ἀπονενοημένων καὶ κατακρίτων ῥημάτων τρέψειεν ἡ ἁγία καὶ ὁμοούσιος τριάς, 17.2 ἡμεῖς δὲ ὑποδείξομεν τὰς θείας παρατιθέμενοι γραφὰς τὸ πρῶτον κτίσμα τοῦ θεοῦ οὕτω γεγενῆσθαι· πρῶτον κτίσμα ἐπαρθὲν ἐκ τῶν οὐρανῶν ἐρρίφη ὡς ἀστραπή, καθὰ αὐτὸς ὁ κτίσας καλῶς καὶ ὕστερον δικαίως ῥίψας ἐν εὐαγγελίῳ ἐθεώρησεν· 17.3 λέγει δὲ οὑτωσὶ παρὰ τῷ Ἰώβ· «ἀλλ' ἰδοὺ θηρίον παρά σοι χόρτον ἴσα βουσὶν ἐσθίον· ἰδού, ἡ ἰσχὺς αὐτοῦ ἐν ὀσφΰι, ἡ δὲ δύναμις αὐτοῦ ἐπ' ὀμφαλοῦ γαστρός. ἔστησεν οὐρὰν ὡς κυπά ρισσον, τὰ δὲ νεῦρα αὐτοῦ συμπέπλεκται, αἱ πλευραὶ χαλκαῖ, ὁ δὲ νῶτος αὐτοῦ σιδηροῦς χυτός. τοῦτό ἐστιν ἀρχὴ πλάσματος κυρίου πεποιημένον ἐγκαταπαίζεσθαι ὑπὸ τῶν ἀγγέλων». 17.4 ὥστε τὸν διάβολον πρῶτον κτίσμα εἶναι λέγει ἑαυτὸν ποιήσαντα ἐγκαταπαίζεσθαι ὑπὸ τῶν ἁγίων ἀγγέλων διὰ τὸ ἀνόσιον αὐτοῦ καὶ κακόβουλον τῆς προαιρέσεως. οὐκ ἂν δὲ μετ' αὐτὸν ὁ υἱὸς ὁ καὶ τοῦτον δημιουργήσας οὔτε μὴν τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ θεοῦ ἐκτίσθη. 18.ν Περὶ τῆς ἁγίας τριάδος καὶ ὅτι διὰ τὸ ταὐτὸν τῆς οὐσίας τὰ αὐτὰ ἐπ' ἀμφο τέραις ταῖς ὑποστάσεσιν ὀνόματα λέγονται, πάρεξ τῆς πατρότητος καὶ υἱότητος καὶ τῆς ἐκπορεύσεως τοῦ πνεύματος. τοῦτο γὰρ ἴδιον ἑκάστης ὑποστάσεως ἰδίως. καὶ ὅτι ποτὲ ὁ πατήρ, ποτὲ ὁ υἱός, ποτὲ τὸ πνεῦμα προτάσ σεται. καὶ ὅτι καὶ τὸ τριαδικὸν καὶ τὸ μοναδικὸν ἐν τῇ γραφῇ δείκνυται. 18.1 Ἐκ πάντων δὴ οὖν τῶν εἰρημένων συνέστη ὡς τὰ ἐκείνων παντοίως ἀλλότρια τῆς ἀληθείας ὄντα τυγχάνει. σοφιστείας γὰρ ἔργον τὸ εὑρεσιλογεῖν, σοφίας δὲ τὸ μετ'