20

taking "the one" in the sense of "the equal" and "the same" in power. But indeed if the throne of God, as we have believed, is a name of rank, what else does the seat at the right hand of the Father, set apart for the Son, signify, and not the equality of rank? But the Lord also promises to come in the glory of the Father. Therefore it remains that "greater" is said here according to the principle of cause. For since the beginning for the Son is from the Father, in this respect the Father is greater, as cause and beginning. For this reason the Lord also said thus: "My Father is greater than I," evidently, inasmuch as He is Father. And what else does "Father" signify, if not being the cause and beginning of the one begotten from him? Moreover, substance is not said to be greater or less than substance, even according to your wisdom. So that both according to them, and according to truth itself, the aforementioned statement of "greater" could in no way indicate superiority in substance. But indeed, this man himself would not say that God the Father is greater in bulk; since he declared that one must not suppose magnitude with regard to God. The remaining sense of "greater," therefore, is the one spoken of by us, that of beginning, I say, and of cause. Such, then, is his blasphemous argument concerning "greater." But it is worthy of wonder that, being turned about in such a short space to the most contrary arguments, as if struck with a certain blindness in the eyes of his soul, he was unable to perceive the conflict in his statements; so that he might be shown to be so much a stranger to the peace of God, which our Lord left to those who have genuinely and guilelessly believed in him, saying: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you;" so that not only with others, 29.569 but he also fights against himself. For having said that God the Father is greater than the Only-begotten Son, and having imputed madness to those who say they are equal, as if he himself had irrefutable proofs of this, consider what he writes a little further on. {ΕΥΝ.} But that the one God of all is unbegotten and incomparable, though many things have been omitted, I think that what has been said is sufficient for proof. {ΒΑΣ.} Let him be asked then, if God is incomparable, from where was His superiority apprehended? For "greater" is perceived from comparison with the things surpassed. How then is the same being both greater and beyond comparison? But in order to show that the substance of God is different from that of the Only-begotten, he interpreted "greater," spoken comparatively, as a difference of substance; but in order to reduce the Only-begotten again to equality with creation, he lays down that the Father is incomparable; devising a certain new and truly incomparable way of blasphemy; under the pretense, forsooth, of exalting and elevating God the Father, diminishing the glory of the Only-begotten Son and God; while the Lord testifies and says: "He who does not honor the Son, does not honor the Father;" and: "He who rejects me does not reject me, but him who sent me." But the enemy of truth, who works in them to say and write such things, saw this, that if he should blind them to the understanding of the glory of the Only-begotten, he would also take away the knowledge of God the Father himself; so that, even if they seem to assign certain exaggerations to God the Father, it is of no benefit to them, having been deprived of the knowledge of the way that leads to Him. Since Jews also think they glorify God, and one will hear certain Greeks wishing to say something great about God; but nevertheless no one would say they magnify God without faith in Christ, through whom is the access to knowledge. He therefore says God is incomparable, in order to show the Son is equal to creation, in that He falls short of the Father's glory in a similar way; because things which are surpassed by an equal measure are necessarily equal to one another. And according to this man's argument, the Only-begotten Son is surpassed by God the Father by as much as each of the other things is. For such is the incomparable, which is equally unapproachable and unattainable to all. But if He falls short of the Father equally with the others,

20

τὸ ἓν ἀντὶ τοῦ ἴσου καὶ ταὐτοῦ κατὰ δύναμιν παραλαμβάνων. Ἀλλὰ μὴν εἴ γε καὶ ὁ θρόνος ὁ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὥσπερ οὖν ἡμεῖς πεπιστεύκαμεν, ἀξιώματός ἐστιν ὄνομα, ἡ ἐκ δεξιῶν τοῦ Πατρὸς ἀφωρισμένη τῷ Υἱῷ καθέδρα τί ποτε ἕτερον, καὶ οὐχὶ τὸ ὁμότιμον τῆς ἀξίας ἀποση μαίνει; Ἀλλὰ καὶ ἥξειν ὁ Κύριος ἐπαγγέλλεται ἐν τῇ δόξῃ τοῦ Πατρός. Λείπεται τοίνυν κατὰ τὸν τῆς αἰτίας λόγον ἐνταῦθα τὸ μεῖζον λέγεσθαι. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἀπὸ τοῦ Πατρὸς ἡ ἀρχὴ τῷ Υἱῷ, κατὰ τοῦτο μείζων ὁ Πατὴρ, ὡς αἴτιος καὶ ἀρχή. ∆ιὸ καὶ ὁ Κύ ριος οὕτως εἶπεν· Ὁ Πατήρ μου μείζων μου ἐστὶ, καθὸ Πατὴρ δηλονότι. Τὸ δὲ, Πατὴρ, τί ἄλλο ση μαίνει ἢ οὐχὶ τὸ αἰτία εἶναι καὶ ἀρχὴ τοῦ ἐξ αὐτοῦ γεννηθέντος; Ὅλως δὲ οὐσία οὐσίας, καὶ κατὰ τὴν ὑμετέραν σοφίαν, μείζων καὶ ἐλάττων οὐ λέ γεται. Ὥστε καὶ κατὰ τούτους, καὶ κατ' αὐτὴν τὴν ἀλήθειαν, οὐδενὶ ἂν τρόπῳ τὴν κατ' οὐσίαν ὑπερ οχὴν ὁ προκείμενος λόγος τοῦ μείζονος ἐμφαίνοι. Ἀλλὰ μὴν οὐδὲ κατ' ὄγκον φαίη ἂν αὐτὸς οὗτος μείζονα τὸν Θεὸν Πατέρα· ὅ γε ἀποφηνάμενος μὴ χρῆναι περὶ τὸν Θεὸν ὑπονοεῖν πηλικότητα. Ὑπό λοιπος οὖν ἐστιν ὁ παρ' ἡμῶν λεχθεὶς τοῦ μείζονος τρόπος, ὁ τῆς ἀρχῆς, λέγω, καὶ τῆς αἰτίας. Ἡ μὲν οὖν κατὰ τὸ μεῖζον ἐπιχείρησις αὐτοῦ τῆς βλασφημίας τοιαύτη. Ἐκεῖνο δὲ θαυμάσαι ἄξιον, ὅτι οὕτως ἐν βρα χεῖ πρὸς τοὺς ἐναντιωτάτους λόγους περιτρεπόμε νος, καθάπερ ἀορασίᾳ τινὶ τοὺς τῆς ψυχῆς ὀφθαλ μοὺς πεπληγμένος, συνιδεῖν τὴν ἐν τοῖς λε χθεῖσι μάχην οὐκ ἐδυνήθη· ἵνα φανῇ τοσοῦτον ξένος ὢν τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ εἰρήνης, ἣν ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν τοῖς γνησίως καὶ ἀδόλως εἰς αὐτὸν πεπιστευκόσιν ἀφ ῆκεν, εἰπών· Εἰρήνην ἀφίημι ὑμῖν, εἰρήνην τὴν ἐμὴν δίδωμι ὑμῖν· ὥστε οὐχὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις μόνον, 29.569 ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτὸς ἑαυτῷ διαμάχεται. Μείζονα γὰρ εἰ πὼν τὸν Θεὸν καὶ Πατέρα τοῦ Μονογενοῦς Υἱοῦ, καὶ τοῖς τὸ ἴσον λέγουσι μανίαν ἐπικαλέσας, ὡς αὐτὸς ἀναντιῤῥήτους ἔχων τούτου τὰς ἀποδείξεις, μικρὸν ὑποβὰς σκέψασθε οἷα γράφει. {ΕΥΝ.} Ἀλλ' ὅτι μὲν εἷς ὁ τῶν ὅλων Θεὸς ἀγέν νητος καὶ ἀσύγκριτος, πλειόνων ὄντων τῶν παρα λελειμμένων, ἀποχρῆν, ἡγοῦμαι, καὶ τὰ ῥηθέντα πρὸς ἀπόδειξιν. {ΒΑΣ.} Ἐρωτάσθω τοίνυν, εἰ ἀσύγκριτος ὁ Θεὸς, πόθεν αὐτοῦ ἡ ὑπεροχὴ κατελήφθη; Τὸ γὰρ μεῖζον ἐκ τῆς πρὸς τὰ ὑπερεχόμενα παραθέσεως θεωρεῖ ται. Πῶς οὖν ὁ αὐτὸς καὶ μείζων ἐστὶ καὶ ἀπαρά θετος; Ἀλλ' ἵνα μὲν παρηλλαγμένην τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν οὐσίαν πρὸς τὴν τοῦ Μονογενοῦς ἐπιδείξῃ, συγκρι τικῶς λεγόμενον τὸ μεῖζον εἰς τὴν τῆς οὐσίας δια φορὰν ἐξεδέξατο· ἵνα δὲ πάλιν εἰς τὸ ὁμότιμον τῇ κτίσει τὸν Μονογενῆ καταγάγῃ, ἀσύγκριτον εἶναι τὸν Πατέρα νομοθετεῖ· καινήν τινα καὶ ἀσύγκριτον ὄντως τὴν ὁδὸν τῆς βλασφημίας ἐπινοῶν· ἐν προσ ποιήσει δὴ τοῦ ὑψοῦν καὶ ἐξαίρειν τὸν Θεὸν καὶ Πατέρα, τοῦ Μονογενοῦς Υἱοῦ καὶ Θεοῦ τὴν δόξαν κατασμικρύνων· τοῦ Κυρίου διαμαρτυρουμένου καὶ λέγοντος· Ὁ μὴ τιμῶν τὸν Υἱὸν, οὐ τιμᾷ τὸν Πατέρα· καί· Ὁ ἀθετῶν ἐμὲ οὐκ ἐμὲ ἀθετεῖ· ἀλλὰ τὸν πέμψαντά με. Ἀλλ' ὁ ἐχθρὸς τῆς ἀλη θείας, ὁ ἐνεργῶν τὰ τοιαῦτα λέγειν καὶ γράφειν αὐτοῖς, εἶδεν ἐκεῖνο, ὅτι, εἰ πρὸς τὴν σύνεσιν αὐτοὺς τῆς τοῦ Μονογενοῦς δόξης ἀποτυφλώσειε, καὶ τὴν αὐτοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Πατρὸς γνῶσιν συναφαιρή σεται· ὥστε, εἰ καὶ δοκοῦσιν ὑπερβολάς τινας νέ μειν τῷ Θεῷ καὶ Πατρὶ, μηδὲν αὐτοῖς ὄφελος εἶναι τῆς πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀγούσης ὁδοῦ τὴν γνῶσιν ἀφῃρη μένοις. Ἐπειδὴ καὶ Ἰουδαῖοι δοξάζειν τὸν Θεὸν οἴονται, καὶ Ἑλλήνων τις ἀκούσεται βουλομένων τι μέγα περὶ Θεοῦ λέγειν· ἀλλ' ὅμως οὐκ ἄν τις εἴποι μεγαλύνειν αὐτοὺς τὸν Θεὸν ἄνευ τῆς εἰς Χρι στὸν πίστεως, δι' οὗ ἡ προσαγωγὴ τῆς γνώσεώς ἐστιν. Ἀσύγκριτον οὖν τὸν Θεὸν λέγει, ἵνα δείξῃ Υἱὸν ἴσον ὄντα τῇ κτίσει, ἐν τῷ ὁμοίως τῆς δόξης τοῦ Πατρὸς ἀπολείπεσθαι· διότι τὰ ἴσῳ μέτρῳ ὑπερεχόμενα ἴσα ἀλλήλοις ἀναγκαίως ἐστί. Τοσοῦ τον δὲ ὑπερέχεται κατὰ τὸν τούτου λόγον ὑπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Πατρὸς ὁ Μονογενὴς Υἱὸς, ὅσον καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἕκαστον. Τοιοῦτον γάρ ἐστι τὸ ἀσύγκριτον, ὃ πᾶσιν ὁμοίως ἐστὶν ἀπροσπέλαστον καὶ ἀνέφικτον. Εἰ δὲ ἴσον τοῖς ἄλλοις τοῦ Πατρὸς ἀπολείπε ται,