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For even if there are those who are called: The fact that, though there be many gods and lords, yet there is one who is truly God and Father, and one who is truly Lord Jesus, this declares, that the divinity which is the cause and creator of all things, by an indivisible and unscattered communication of the title of its own divinity and lordship, has brought forth those called gods and lords, the divinity not being broken into parts of divinities, as gold into many coins, nor do the many gods complete his divinity, in the way that many species complete the one cosmos, but God is said to be multiplied, by the will for the production of beings in each case, by providential processions, being multiplied yet remaining an indivisible one, just as the sun sends forth many rays, and remains in its unity; for it has been said also concerning the Sun of righteousness, that he is divided daily, and is not consumed; and it is well said also concerning divine things, that the unions are more powerful than the distinctions; for the one who listens intelligently concerning God, on hearing of unity concerning him, must not suppose weakness, nor simplicity as impossibility; for nothing is said by us appropriately concerning God 14S_088 which attains to that property, neither by way of negation, as immortal, and the like; nor by way of affirmation, as life perhaps and the one, but the one must be spoken of as incomparable to all things, which is likewise the case also in the ineffable processions of its own unity of the other hypostases; for he remains the same, even if the will seems to be distinguished for the production of the others. Of all distinction, therefore, that is, of the procession for all things to exist. And the indivisible unity of God is the pre-cause and more powerful. But in the case of sensible things, the opposite is true; for there is no unity of them, but the distinctions of the elements, pre-existing, coming together and uniting, produce secondary unions from the composition; but with divine things it is not so; for with them the pre-existing union makes the distinctions secondary by will.

And after that of the one? He speaks of unions in divine matters, that is, the things considered both unitively and monadically in the divinity, without, of course, the properties which he set apart, that is, fatherhood, sonship, and the procession of the Spirit from the Father; and distinctions, the fact that there are many who partake of the divine gifts. Therefore the things of the unions are pre-eminent and more powerful; for the things of the one divinity and lordship were not gathered from the many, but from its monadic reality, which is considered a multitude in those things.

ON CHAPTER 3

§ 1. The font of goodness: The source of all goodness. But not all things: How not all things are present to God, he himself also says, but you will understand

it also from the divine oracle: "Draw near to me, and I will draw near to you, says the Lord."

Us, therefore, ourselves: Note that prayer raises us up to 14S_090 God, it does not bring him down to us; and note also that the examples are beautiful.

Of the chain of many lights: He has well likened our prayer to a heavenly chain. For just as one wishing to ascend to the height of heaven grasps this rope strongly with his hands.

Of cables: Of ropes. The everywhere: How God is present everywhere and nowhere, has been said by us

above in the exegesis, the beginning of which is, The philosophers speak of position. Just as, therefore, the one lifting himself little by little from the earth with his hands seems to be pulling down the chain, but he himself is lifted and is raised on high by the gradual ascent, so also the one who earnestly

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Καί γάρ εἴπερ εἰσί λεγόμενοι: Τό, κἄν θεοί πολλοί καί κύριοι ὦσι, πλήν ἕνα εἶναι τόν ἀληθῶς Θεόν καί Πατέρα, καί ἕνα τόν ἀληθῶς Κύριον Ἰησοῦν, τοῦτο δηλοῖ, ὅτι ἡ πάντων αἰτία, καί δημιουργός θεότης κατά μετάδοσιν ἀμέριστον καί ἀσκέδαστον τῆς ἐπωνυμίας τῆς οἰκείας θεότητος καί κυριότητος τούς λεγομένους θεούς καί κυρίους προήγαγεν, οὐ κατακερματισθείσης τῆς θεότητος εἰς μέρη θεοτήτων, ὡς χρυσός εἰς νομίσματα πολλά, οὔτε τῶν πολλῶν θεῶν συμπληρούντων τήν αὐτοῦ θεότητα, ὅν τρόπον τά πολλά εἴδη, τόν ἕνα κόσμον, ἀλλά πληθύνεσθαι λέγεται ὁ Θεός, τῷ καθ' ἕκαστον εἰς παραγωγήν τῶν ὄντων βουλήματι, προνοητικαῖς προόδοις, πολλαπλάσιαζόμενος μέν, μένων δέ ἀμερές ἕν, ὥσπερ ἤλιος ἀκτῖνας πολλάς ἐκπέμπων, καί μένων ἐν τῇ ἑνότητι· εἴρηται γάρ καί περί τοῦ Ηλίου τῆς δικαιοσύνης, ὁ καθ' ἡμέραν μεριζόμενος, καί μή δαπανώμενος· καλῶς δέ καί ἐπί τῶν θείων εἴρηται, τάς ἑνώσεις τῶν διακρίσεων ἐπικρατεστέρας εἶναι· καί γάρ οὐ δεῖ τόν νουνεχῶς ἀκροώμενον περί Θεοῦ, ἑνάδα περί αὐτοῦ ἀκούοντα, ὑπονοεῖν ἀσθένειαν, οὔτε ἁπλοῦν ὡς ἀδύνατον· οὐδέν γάρ ἐπί Θεοῦ οἰκείως 14S_088 παρ' ἡμῶν λέγεται τῆς ἰδιότητος ἐκείνης ἐφικνούμενον, οὔτε κατά στέρησιν, ὡς ἀθάνατος, καί τά ὅμοια· οὔτε κατά θέσιν, ὡς ζωή τυχόν καί τό ἕν, ἀλλά τό ἕν, ὡς πᾶσιν ἀσύμβλητον ρητέον, ὅπερ ὡσαύτως ἔχει καί ἐν ταῖς ἀνεκφοιτήτοις τῆς οἰκείας ἑνάδος τῶν λοιπῶν ὑποστάσεσι· μένει γάρ ὁ αὐτός, κἄν τό βούλημα δοκῇ διακρίνεσθαι εἰς τήν τῶν λοιπῶν παραγωγήν. Πάσης οὖν διακρίσεως, τουτέστιν εἰς τό εἶναι τά πάντα παρόδου. Προαιτία δέ καί ἐπικρατεστέρα ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀμέριστος ἑνάς. Ἐπί δέ τῶν αἰσθητῶν τό ἐναντίον· οὐδέ γάρ αὐτῶν ἐστιν ἑνάς, ἀλλ' αἱ διακρίσεις τῶν στοιχείων, προϋποῦσαι, σύνδρομοι γινόμεναι καί ἑνούμεναι, δευτέρας τάς ἐκ τῆς συνθέσεως ἑνώσεις ἐργάζονται· ἐπί δέ τῶν θείων οὐχ οὕτως· ἐπί αὐτῶν γάρ προϋποῦσα ἡ ἕνωσις τάς διακρίσεις βουλήματι δευτέρας ποιεῖ.

Καί μετά τήν τοῦ ἑνός; Ἑνώσεις μέν ἐπί τῶν θείων φησίν, ἤτοι τά ἑνιαίως τε καί μοναδικῶς ἐπί τῆς θεότητος θεωρούμενα, ἄνευ γε δηλαδή ὧν προϋπεστείλατο ἰδιοτήτων, τουτέστι πατρότητος, υἱότητος, καί τῆς ἐκ τοῦ Πατρός Πνεύματος ἐκπορεύσεως· διακρίσεις δέ, τό πολλά εἶναι τά τῶν θείων μετέχοντα δωρεῶν προκατάρχουσι τοίνυν καί ἐπικρατοῦσι τά τῶν ἑνώσεων· οὐ γάρ ἐκ τῶν πολλῶν συνήχθη τά τῆς μιᾶς θεότητος καί κυριότητος, ἀλλά ἐκ τοῦ ταύτης μοναδικοῦ, ὅ ἐν ἐκείνοις πληθυσμός θεωρεῖται.

ΕΙΣ ΤΟ ΚΕΦΑΛΑΙΟΝ Γ'

§ 1. Τήν ἀγαθαρχικήν: Τήν ἀρχηγόν πάσης ἀγαθότητος. Οὐ πάντα δέ: Πῶς οὐ πάντα πάρεστι τῷ Θεῷ, φησί μέν καί αὐτός, νοήσεις δέ

αὐτό καί ἐκ θείου χρησμοῦ· «ἐγγίσατε πρός μέ, καί ἐγώ ἐγγιῶ πρός ὑμᾶς, λέγει Κύριος».

Ἡμᾶς οὖν αὐτούς: Σημείωσαι, ὅτι ἡ εὑχή ἡμᾶς ἀνάγει πρός 14S_090 τόν Θεόν, οὐκ αὐτόν πρός ἡμᾶς κατάγει· σημείωσαι δέ καί τά παραδείγματα ὡραῖα ὄντα.

Πολυφώτου σειρᾶς: Καλῶς ἀπείκασεν οὐρανίᾳ σειρᾷ τήν καθ' ἡμᾶς προσευχήν. Ὥσπερ γάρ ὁ εἰς ὕψος οὐρανοῦ ἀνιέναι θέλων ἐπιδράττεται ταῖς χερσίν ἰσχυρῶς τῆς σχοίνου ταύτης.

Πεισμάτων: Σχοινίων. Τήν ἁπανταχῆ: Πῶς πανταχοῦ πάρεστι καί οὐδαμοῦ ὁ Θεός, εἴρηται ἡμῖν

ἀνωτέρω ἐν τῇ ἐξηγήσει, ἧς ἡ ἀρχή, Θέσιν φασίν οἱ φιλόσοφοι. Ὥσπερ οὖν ὁ κατά μικρόν ἑαυτόν τῆς γῆς κουφίζων ταῖς χερσί δοκεῖ μέν καθέλκειν τήν σειράν, αὐτός δέ κουφίζεται καί πρός ὕψος αἴρεται τῇ κατά μικρόν ἀναβάσει, οὕτω καί ὁ ἐκτενῶς