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wishing to attribute 20the most high and most sovereign20 only to the substance of the Father, not allowing the substance of either the Son or of the Holy Spirit to be high and sovereign. 1.1.162 For I, for my part, think this to be a preparation for the complete denial of the substance of both the Only-begotten and the Spirit, and that this is being secretly constructed through such artifice, so that these seem to exist only in name, but the true confession of their hypostasis is set aside through such a construction; and that these things are this way, one might not with difficulty perceive, having spent a little time 1.1.163 on the argument. It is not characteristic of one who believes that the Only-begotten and the Holy Spirit truly exist in their own hypostasis to be precise about the confession of the names with which he thinks it necessary to dignify the God over all; for it would surely be of the utmost foolishness for one agreeing with the fact to quibble about the words. But now by attributing "the most high and most sovereign" only to the substance of the Father, he has given reason, through his silence concerning the rest, 1.1.164 to conjecture that they do not exist in a sovereign sense. For how is it possible to say that something truly exists, to which sovereign existence is not attributed? For it is necessary for those of whom sovereignty is not confessed, to be classed with the contrasting terms. For that which is not sovereign is altogether invalid; so that the construction of not existing in a sovereign sense becomes a proof of complete non-existence. Looking to which Eunomius seems to be innovating these names in his own 1.1.165 dogma. For surely no one will say that he, through inexperience, having fallen into a foolish notion, distinguishes "above" from "below" in a local sense, and assigning to the Father a kind of lookout on a hill, establishes the Son in the lower places. 1.1.166 For no one is so childish in mind as to conceive of a difference according to place in the case of the intellectual and incorporeal nature. For it is a property of bodies to be situated in a place, but that which is by nature intellectual and immaterial is confessed to be far from the concept of place. What then is the reason for the substance of the Father alone to be called 20most high20? For one would not easily suspect that he is carried away into these suspicions by some ignorance, he who pretends to be wise in many things which he displays and, as the divine scripture forbids, [and] is wise overmuch. 1.1.167 But surely nor will he say that the "above" of the substance indicates a superiority of power or of goodness or of any other such thing. For this too is known to everyone, not only to those reputed to excel in wisdom, that both the hypostasis of the Only-begotten and that of the Holy Spirit is without lack of perfect goodness and power and all such things. 1.1.168 For all good things, as long as they remain unceptive of the contrary, have no limit of goodness, since it is their nature to be circumscribed only by their contraries, as it is possible to see in the case of individual examples. Power ceases when weakness takes over, life is bounded by death, darkness becomes the limit of light, and, to speak concisely, all things, 1.1.169 individual good things end in their contraries. If then he supposes the nature of the Only-begotten and of the Spirit to be subject to change for the worse, he reasonably diminishes in their case the concept of goodness, as being able to be joined with their contraries. But if the divine and unchangeable nature is unceptive of the worse, and this has been confessed by our very enemies, it is certainly considered indefinite in goodness, and the indefinite is the same as the infinite. But to conceive of more and less of the infinite and indefinite is of the utmost irrationality. For how could the concept of infinity be preserved, 1.1.170 if more and less were taught concerning it? For from the comparison of limits with one another we discern the greater; but in the case of things where there is no limit, how could anyone be able 1.1.171 to conceive of the excess? Or is it not this, but conceiving of some temporal superiority according to the precedence of antiquity he assigns the greater part, and for this reason he says the substance of the Father alone is most high? Therefore let him say, to what the

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βουλόμενος τὸ 20ἀνώτατόν τε καὶ κυριώτατον20 μόνῃ προσμαρτυρεῖ τοῦ πατρὸς τῇ οὐσίᾳ, οὔτε τοῦ υἱοῦ οὔτε τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος ἄνω τε καὶ κυρίαν εἶναι συγχω 1.1.162 ρῶν τὴν οὐσίαν. οἶμαι γὰρ ἔγωγε μελέτην εἶναι ταύτην τῆς παντελοῦς κατὰ τὴν οὐσίαν ἀρνήσεως τοῦ τε μονογενοῦς καὶ τοῦ πνεύματος, καὶ τοῦτο λεληθότως κατασκευάζεσθαι διὰ τῆς τοιαύτης τεχνολογίας, τὸ μέχρις ὀνόματος εἶναι ταῦτα δοκεῖν, τὴν δὲ ἀληθῆ τῆς ὑποστάσεως αὐτῶν ὁμολογίαν διὰ τῆς τοιαύτης κατασκευῆς ἀθετεῖσθαι· καὶ ὅτι ταῦτα τοῦ τον ἔχει τὸν τρόπον, οὐ χαλεπῶς ἄν τις κατανοήσειε μικρὸν 1.1.163 προσδιατρίψας τῷ λόγῳ. οὐκ ἔστι τοῦ νομίζοντος ἀληθῶς εἶναι κατ' ἰδίαν ὑπόστασιν τὸν μονογενῆ καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον τὸ ἀκριβολογεῖσθαι περὶ τὴν ὁμολογίαν τῶν ὀνομάτων, οἷς ἀποσεμνύνειν οἴεται δεῖν τὸν ἐπὶ πάντων θεόν· ἦ γὰρ ἂν ἦν τῆς ἐσχάτης εὐηθείας τῷ πράγματι συντιθέμενον μικρολογεῖσθαι περὶ τὰ ῥήματα. νυνὶ δὲ τῷ μόνῃ προσ μαρτυρῆσαι τοῦ πατρὸς τῇ οὐσίᾳ τὸ 20ἀνώτατόν τε καὶ κυριώτατον20 ἔδωκε διὰ τῆς σιωπῆς περὶ τῶν ὑπολοίπων 1.1.164 ὡς οὐ κυρίως ὑφεστώτων στοχάζεσθαι. πῶς γὰρ ἔστιν ἀληθῶς εἶναί τι λέγειν, ᾧ μὴ προσμαρτυρεῖται τὸ κυρίως εἶναι; ἀνάγκη γὰρ ἐφ' ὧν οὐχ ὁμολογεῖται τὸ κύριον, τοῖς ἀντιδιαστελλομένοις τῶν ὀνομάτων συντίθεσθαι. τὸ γὰρ μὴ κύριον ἄκυρον πάντως· ὥστε ἡ τοῦ μὴ κυρίως εἶναι κατα σκευὴ τῆς παντελοῦς ἀνυπαρξίας ἀπόδειξις γίνεται. πρὸς ἣν ἔοικεν ὁ Εὐνόμιος βλέπων ταῦτα καινοτομεῖν ἐν τῷ καθ' 1.1.165 ἑαυτὸν δόγματι τὰ ὀνόματα. οὐ γὰρ δὴ δι' ἀπειρίαν φήσει τις αὐτὸν εἰς ἀνόητον ὑπόληψιν ἐκπεσόντα τοπικῶς τὸ ἄνω πρὸς τὸ ὑποβεβηκὸς διαστέλλειν καὶ τῷ πατρὶ καθάπερ γεώλοφόν τινα σκοπιὰν ἀφορίζοντα τὸν υἱὸν τοῖς κοιλοτέροις 1.1.166 ἐγκαθιδρύειν. οὐδεὶς γὰρ οὕτω παῖς τὴν διάνοιαν, ὡς ἐπὶ τῆς νοερᾶς τε καὶ ἀσωμάτου φύσεως τὴν κατὰ τόπον δια φορὰν ἐννοεῖν. ἴδιον γὰρ σωμάτων ἡ ἐπὶ τόπου θέσις, τὸ δὲ τῇ φύσει νοερόν τε καὶ ἄϋλον πόρρω τῆς κατὰ τόπον ἐννοίας ὁμολογεῖται. τίς οὖν ἡ αἰτία τοῦ 20ἀνωτάτω20 λέ γεσθαι μόνου τοῦ πατρὸς τὴν οὐσίαν; εἰς γὰρ ταύτας τὰς ὑπονοίας ἐξ ἀμαθίας τινὸς αὐτὸν παραφέρεσθαι οὐκ ἄν τις εὐκόλως ὑπονοήσειε τὸν ἐν πολλοῖς, οἷς ἐπιδείκνυται, σοφὸν εἶναι προσποιούμενον καί, καθὼς ἀπαγορεύει ἡ θεία γραφή, [καὶ] τὰ περισσὰ σοφιζόμενον. 1.1.167 Ἀλλὰ μὴν οὐδὲ δυνάμεως οὐδὲ ἀγαθότητος οὐδὲ ἄλ λου τινὸς τῶν τοιούτων ὑπεροχὴν τὸ ἄνω φήσει τῆς οὐσίας ἐνδείκνυσθαι. καὶ γὰρ καὶ τοῦτο παντὶ γνώριμον, μὴ ὅτι τοῖς ἐπὶ σοφίᾳ πλεονεκτεῖν ὑπειλημμένοις, ὅτι ἀνενδεὴς πρὸς τελείαν ἀγαθότητά τε καὶ δύναμιν καὶ πάντα τὰ τοι αῦτα ἥ τε τοῦ μονογενοῦς καὶ ἡ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματός ἐστιν 1.1.168 ὑπόστασις. τὰ γὰρ ἀγαθὰ πάντα, ἕως ἂν ἀπαράδεκτα τοῦ ἐναντίου μένῃ, ὅρον οὐκ ἔχει τῆς ἀγαθότητος, ἐπειδὴ μόνοις τοῖς ἐναντίοις πέφυκε περιγράφεσθαι, ὡς ἐπὶ τῶν καθ' ἕκαστον ὑποδειγμάτων ἔστιν ἰδεῖν. ἡ δύναμις ἀσθενείας περιλαβούσης ἵσταται, ἡ ζωὴ θανάτῳ περιορίζεται, φωτὸς πέρας τὸ σκότος γίνεται, καὶ πάντα συνελόντι φάναι, τὰ 1.1.169 καθ' ἕκαστον ἀγαθὰ τοῖς ἐναντίοις ἐναπολήγει. εἰ μὲν οὖν τρεπτὴν πρὸς τὸ χεῖρον τὴν φύσιν τοῦ μονογενοῦς καὶ τοῦ πνεύματος ὑποτίθεται, εἰκότως ἐπ' αὐτῶν κατασμικρύνει τὴν τῆς ἀγαθότητος ἔννοιαν, ὡς δυναμένων καὶ τοῖς ἐναντίοις συνενεχθῆναι. εἰ δὲ ἀνεπίδεκτός ἐστι τοῦ χείρονος ἡ θεία τε καὶ ἀναλλοίωτος φύσις, καὶ τοῦτο παρ' αὐτῶν τῶν ἐχ θρῶν ὡμολόγηται, ἀόριστος πάντως ἐν τῷ ἀγαθῷ θεω ρεῖται, τὸ δὲ ἀόριστον τῷ ἀπείρῳ ταὐτόν ἐστιν. ἀπείρου δὲ καὶ ἀορίστου πλεονασμὸν καὶ ἐλάττωσιν ἐννοεῖν τῆς ἐσχάτης ἀλογίας ἐστί. πῶς γὰρ ἂν ὁ τῆς ἀπειρίας διασωθείη λόγος, 1.1.170 εἰ τὸ πλέον τε καὶ ἔλαττον ἐν αὐτῷ δογματίζοιτο; ἐκ γὰρ τῆς τῶν περάτων πρὸς ἄλληλα παραθέσεως τὸ πλέον δια γινώσκομεν· ἐφ' ὧν δὲ πέρας οὐκ ἔστι, πῶς ἄν τις δυνη 1.1.171 θείη τὸ περισσὸν ἐννοῆσαι; ἢ οὐχὶ τοῦτο, χρονικὴν δέ τινα τὴν ὑπεροχὴν ἐννοῶν κατὰ τὰ πρεσβεῖα τῆς ἀρχαιότητος τὸ πλέον νέμει, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τὴν τοῦ πατρὸς οὐσίαν μόνην ἀνωτάτω φησίν; οὐκοῦν εἰπάτω, τίνι τὸ