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ruler.» And consider for me the understanding of the prophets and their spiritual wisdom. For lest, by simply saying "God," they should be thought to be speaking of the Father, they first make mention of the economy; for indeed the Father was not born of a virgin, nor did he become a child. Again another prophet speaks of him in this way: «This is our God, no other shall be accounted of in comparison with him.» And of whom does he say this? Is it not of the Father? By no means; for hear how this one also made mention of the economy; for having said: «This is our God, no other shall be accounted of in comparison with him,» he added: «He found out all the way of knowledge, and gave it to Jacob his servant, and to Israel his beloved. After this he was seen upon earth, and conversed with men.» And Paul: «From whom is the Christ according to the flesh,» he says, «who is over all, God blessed forever, amen,» and again: «Every fornicator or covetous person has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God,» and again: «At the appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.» And John also calls him so, saying: «In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.» Yes, he says, but show me this: where Scripture, placing him together with the Father, calls the Father Lord. But I show not only this, but also that it calls the Father Lord and the Son Lord, and that it calls the Father God and the Son God, placing both names together. Where then is this to be found? Christ, once reasoning with the Jews, says: «What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?» And they say to him: «David's». He says to them: «How then does David in the spirit call him Lord, saying: The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand?» Behold, «Lord» and «Lord». Do you want to learn where Scripture, placing them together, calls the Father God and the Son God? hear both the prophet David and the apostle Paul making this very thing clear to us: «Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, a scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated iniquity; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.» And Paul again brought this testimony forward, saying that «To his angels he says: He who makes his angels spirits; but to the Son: Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.» For what reason then here, he says, did he call God the Father, but the Son Lord? He did not do this here simply or randomly, but because his argument was with Greeks who were sick with polytheism. Therefore, lest they should say that he, while accusing us of speaking of many gods and many lords, is himself caught in these same accusations by speaking of gods, and not God; for this reason, condescending to their weakness, he calls the Son by a different name which has the same power. And that this is true, let us read the passage itself from the beginning, and you will know clearly that what is being said is not our own conjecture: «Now concerning things sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. Concerning the eating, then, of things sacrificed to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one.» Do you see that he says these things addressing those who believe there are many gods? "For even if there are so-called gods many and lords many, whether in heaven, or on earth'—again he contends against them—'as indeed there are many gods and many lords'—that is, so-called—'yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things.' For this reason he added "one," so that they might not think polytheism was being introduced again, and he called the Father "one God," not excluding the Son from divinity, just as he also called the Son "one Lord," not excluding the Father from lordship, but correcting their weakness, and wanting to give them no handle. This, at any rate, has also become the reason for not clearly nor openly, but somewhat dimly and rarely through the

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ἐξουσιαστής.» Καὶ σκόπει μοι προφητῶν σύνεσιν καὶ πνευματικὴν σοφίαν. Ἵνα γὰρ μὴ ἁπλῶς εἰπόντες Θεόν, νομισθῶσι περὶ τοῦ Πατρὸς λέγειν, τῆς οἰκονομίας πρότερον μέμνηνται· οὐ γὰρ δὴ ὁ Πατὴρ διὰ παρθένου ἐγεννήθη, οὐδὲ παιδίον ἐγένετο. Πάλιν ἕτερος προφήτης οὑτωσί πώς φησι περὶ αὐτοῦ· «Οὗτος ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν, οὐ λογισθήσεται ἕτερος πρὸς αὐτόν.» Καὶ περὶ τίνος τοῦτό φησιν; ἆρα μὴ περὶ τοῦ Πατρός; Οὐδαμῶς· ἄκουσον γὰρ πῶς καὶ οὗτος περὶ τῆς οἰκονομίας ἐμνήσθη· εἰπὼν γάρ· «Οὗτος ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν, οὐ λογισθήσεται ἕτερος πρὸς αὐτόν», ἐπήγαγεν· «Ἐξεῦρε πᾶσαν ὁδὸν ἐπιστήμης καὶ ἔδωκεν αὐτὴν Ἰακὼβ τῷ παιδὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ Ἰσραὴλ τῷ ἠγαπημένῳ ὑπ' αὐτοῦ. Μετὰ ταῦτα ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ὤφθη καὶ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις συνανεστράφη.» Ὁ Παῦλος δέ· «Ἐξ ὧν ὁ Χριστός, τὸ κατὰ σάρκα, φησίν, ὁ ὢν ἐπὶ πάντων Θεὸς εὐλογητὸς εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας, ἀμήν», καὶ πάλιν· «Πᾶς πόρνος ἢ πλεονέκτης οὐκ ἔχει κληρονομίαν ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ Θεοῦ», καὶ πάλιν· «Κατὰ τὴν ἐπιφάνειαν τοῦ μεγάλου Θεοῦ καὶ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ.» Καὶ Ἰωάννης δὲ οὕτως αὐτὸν καλεῖ λέγων· «Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ Λόγος καὶ ὁ Λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν καὶ Θεὸς ἦν ὁ Λόγος.» Ναί, φησίν, ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνο δεῖξον, ποῦ μετὰ τοῦ Πατρὸς αὐτὸν συντάττουσα ἡ Γραφὴ Κύριον τὸν Πατέρα καλεῖ. Ἐγὼ δὲ οὐ τοῦτο δείκνυμι μόνον, ἀλλ' ὅτι καὶ Κύριον τὸν Πατέρα καλεῖ καὶ Κύριον τὸν Υἱὸν καὶ ὅτι Θεὸν τὸν Πατέρα καλεῖ καὶ ὅτι Θεὸν τὸν Υἱόν, ὁμοῦ τιθεὶς ἑκάτερα τὰ ὀνόματα. Ποῦ οὖν τοῦτό ἐστιν εὑρεῖν; ∆ιαλεγόμενός ποτε τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις ὁ Χριστός φησι· «Τί ὑμῖν δοκεῖ περὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ; τίνος υἱός ἐστιν;» Οἱ δὲ λέγουσιν αὐτῷ· «τοῦ ∆αυίδ». Λέγει αὐτοῖς· «Πῶς οὖν ∆αυὶδ ἐν πνεύματι Κύριον αὐτὸν καλεῖ λέγων· Εἶπε ὁ Κύριος τῷ Κυρίῳ μου· κάθου ἐκ δεξιῶν μου;» Ἰδοὺ «Κύριος» καὶ «Κύριος». Βούλει μαθεῖν ποῦ Θεὸν καὶ Θεὸν καλεῖ τὸν Πατέρα καὶ τὸν Υἱὸν ὁμοῦ τιθεῖσα ἡ Γραφή; ἄκουσον καὶ τοῦ προφήτου ∆αυὶδ καὶ τοῦ ἀποστόλου Παύλου τοῦτο αὐτὸ δηλούντων ἡμῖν· «Ὁ θρόνος σου, ὁ Θεός, εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶνος, ῥάβδος εὐθύτητος ἡ ῥάβδος τῆς βασιλείας σου. Ἠγάπησας δικαιοσύνην, καὶ ἐμίσησας ἀνομίαν· διὰ τοῦτο ἔχρισέ σε ὁ Θεός, ὁ Θεός σου, ἔλαιον ἀγαλλιάσεως παρὰ τοὺς μετόχους σου.» Καὶ ὁ Παῦλος πάλιν τὴν μαρτυρίαν ταύτην παρήγαγεν εἰπὼν ὅτι «Πρὸς μὲν τοὺς ἀγγέλους αὐτοῦ φησιν· ὁ ποιῶν τοὺς ἀγγέλους αὐτοῦ πνεύματα· πρὸς δὲ τὸν Υἱόν· ὁ θρόνος σου, ὦ Θεός, εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶνος.» Τίνος οὖν ἕνεκεν ἐνταῦθα, φησί, τὸν μὲν Θεὸν Πατέρα ἐκάλεσε, τὸν δὲ Υἱὸν Κύριον; Οὐχ ἁπλῶς οὐδὲ εἰκῇ ἐνταῦθα τοῦτο ἐποίησεν, ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ πρὸς Ἕλληνας ἦν ὁ λόγος αὐτῷ πολυθεΐαν νοσοῦντας. Ἵν' οὖν μὴ λέγωσιν ὅτι ἡμῖν ἐγκαλῶν ὡς πολλοὺς θεοὺς λέγουσι καὶ πολλοὺς κυρίους, αὐτὸς ἁλίσκῃ τοῖς ἐγκλήμασι τούτοις θεοὺς λέγων, καὶ οὐ Θεόν· διὰ τοῦτο συγκαταβαίνων αὐτῶν τῇ ἀσθενείᾳ, ἑτέρῳ καλεῖ τὸν Υἱὸν ὀνόματι τὴν αὐτὴν δύναμιν ἔχοντι. Καὶ ὅτι τοῦτό ἐστιν ἀληθές, ἄνωθεν ἀναγνῶμεν αὐτὸ τὸ χωρίον, καὶ εἴσεσθε σαφῶς ὅτι οὐχ ἡμέτερός ἐστι στοχασμὸς τὸ λεγόμενον· «Περὶ δὲ τῶν εἰδωλοθύτων οἴδαμεν ὅτι πάντες γνῶσιν ἔχομεν. Ἡ γνῶσις φυσιοῖ, ἡ δὲ ἀγάπη οἰκοδομεῖ. Περὶ τῆς βρώσεως οὖν τῶν εἰδωλοθύτων οἴδαμεν ὅτι οὐδὲν εἴδωλον ἐν κόσμῳ καὶ ὅτι οὐδεὶς Θεὸς ἕτερος εἰ μὴ εἷς.» Ὁρᾷς ὅτι πρὸς ἐκείνους ἀποτεινόμενος ταῦτα λέγει τοὺς πολλοὺς νομίζοντας εἶναι θεούς; Καὶ γὰρ εἴπερ εἰσὶ λεγόμενοι θεοὶ πολλοὶ καὶ κύριοι πολλοί, εἴτε ἐν οὐρανῷ, εἴτε ἐπὶ γῆς-πάλιν πρὸς ἐκείνους μάχεται -ὥσπερ οὖν εἰσι θεοὶ πολλοὶ καὶ κύριοι πολλοί-τοῦτ' ἔστι λεγόμενοι-ἀλλ' ἡμῖν εἷς Θεὸς ὁ Πατήρ, ἐξ οὗ τὰ πάντα, καὶ εἷς Κύριος Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, δι' οὗ τὰ πάντα. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ τὸ «εἷς» προσέθηκεν, ἵνα μὴ πολυθεΐαν εἰσάγεσθαι πάλιν ἐκεῖνοι νομίζωσι, καὶ ἕνα Θεὸν τὸν Πατέρα ἐκάλεσεν, οὐκ ἐκβάλλων τὸν Υἱὸν τῆς θεότητος, ὥσπερ οὖν καὶ ἕνα Κύριον τὸν Υἱόν, οὐκ ἐκβάλλων τῆς κυριότητος τὸν Πατέρα, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἐκείνων ἀσθένειαν διορθούμενος, καὶ μηδεμίαν αὐτοῖς δοῦναι βουλόμενος λαβήν. Τοῦτο γοῦν καὶ αἴτιον γέγονε τοῦ μὴ σαφῶς μηδὲ φανερῶς, ἀλλ' ἀμυδρῶς πως καὶ σπανίως διὰ τῶν