nor are you able even now; for you are still of the flesh” and in the one to the Hebrews: “and you have come to need milk, not solid food. For everyone who partakes of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe; but solid food is for the mature, for those who by practice have their senses trained to discern both good and evil.” But I think that the saying “One who has faith eats all things, but one who is weak eats vegetables” is not said by him primarily about bodily foods but about the words of God which nourish the soul; the most faithful and most perfect being able to partake of all things, which he indicates by “One who has faith eats all things,” while the weaker and less perfect is content with simpler teachings that do not impart very much strength, which he himself, wishing to signify, says: “but one who is weak eats vegetables.” 27.6 And I think what is said by Solomon in the Proverbs teaches that one who does not grasp the stronger and greater of the doctrines because of his simplicity (though not holding erroneous opinions) is better than one who is more skilled and sharper and applies himself more greatly to the matters but does not make clear the principle of peace and universal harmony. And the text for him is as follows: “Better is a dinner of vegetables with friendship and grace than a calf from the stall with enmity.” For often indeed we have accepted a private and simpler feast with a good conscience, being entertained by those unable to provide us more, rather than a height of words raised up “against the knowledge of God,” proclaiming with much persuasiveness a doctrine foreign to the Father of our Lord Jesus, who gave “the law and the prophets.” In order, therefore, that we may neither be sick in soul through lack of food, nor die to God through a “famine of the word of the Lord,” let us, obeying our teacher and savior, believing and living more rightly, ask from the Father for 20the living bread20, which is the same as 20the daily bread20. 27.7 But what “0daily20” means must now be considered. First, this must be known, that the word “0daily20” has not been used by any of the Greeks, neither the learned, nor is it current in common speech, but seems to have been coined by the evangelists. At any rate, Matthew and Luke agreed on it, differing in no way, having brought it forth themselves. And those who interpret the Hebrew have done a similar thing in other cases. For what Greek has ever used the term ‘enotizou’ or ‘akoutistheti’ instead of ‘receive into your ears’ and ‘make yourelf hear’? Similar to the term ‘0daily20’ is one written in Moses, spoken by God: “‘and you shall be for me a’ ‘peculiar people.’” And it seems to me that each word has been formed from *ousia* (substance), the one indicating 20the bread20 that contributes to substance, the other signifying the people occupied with and partaking of substance. 27.8 However, substance in the proper sense is held by those who affirm the primary existence to be that of incorporeal things to be according to incorporeal things, having their being securely and neither admitting addition nor suffering subtraction (for this is peculiar to bodies, in which growth and decay occur because they are in flux, needing that which enters and nourishes to support them; which, if more enters in time than flows out, growth occurs, but if less, diminution; and perhaps some things, receiving nothing at all entering, are in, so to speak, unmitigated diminution), but for those who consider it to be secondary, with that of bodies being primary, its definitions are these: substance is either the first matter of existing things, and that from which existing things are, or the matter of bodies, and that from which bodies are, or of things named, and that from which things named are, or the first substratum without quality or that which pre-exists existing things, or that which receives all changes and alterations, but is itself unalterable in its own nature, or that which underlies all alteration and change. And according to these, substance is without quality and without form in its own nature, but not even magnitude

οὐδὲ ἔτι νῦν δύνασθε· ἔτι γάρ ἐστε σάρκινοι» καὶ ἐν τῇ πρὸς Ἑβραίους· «καὶ γεγόνατε χρείαν ἔχοντες γάλακτος, οὐ στερεᾶς τροφῆς. πᾶς γὰρ ὁ μετέχων γάλακτος ἄπειρος λόγου δικαιοσύνης, νήπιος γάρ ἐστι· τελείων δέ ἐστιν ἡ στερεὰ τροφὴ, τῶν διὰ τὴν ἕξιν τὰ αἰσθητήρια γεγυμνασμένα ἐχόντων πρὸς διάκρισιν καλοῦ τε καὶ κακοῦ.» ἐγὼ δὲ ἡγοῦμαι καὶ τὸ «ὃς μὲν πιστεύει φαγεῖν πάντα, ὁ δὲ ἀσθενῶν λάχανα ἐσθίει» μὴ περὶ σωματικῶν τροφῶν αὐτῷ προη γουμένως λέγεσθαι ἀλλὰ περὶ τῶν τρεφόντων τὴν ψυχὴν λόγων θεοῦ· τοῦ μὲν πιστοτάτου καὶ τελειοτάτου δυναμένου πάντων μετα λαμβάνειν, ὅνπερ δηλοῖ διὰ τοῦ «ὃς μὲν πιστεύει φαγεῖν πάντα,» τοῦ δὲ ἀσθενεστέρου καὶ ἀτελεστέρου ἁπλουστέροις καὶ μὴ πάνυ εὐτονίαν ἐμποιοῦσι μαθήμασιν ἀρκουμένου, ὅντινα αὐτὸς σημῆναι θέλων λέγει· «ὁ δὲ ἀσθενῶν λάχανα ἐσθίει.» 27.6 καὶ τὸ παρὰ τῷ Σολομῶντι δὲ ἐν ταῖς Παροιμίαις λεγόμε νον ἡγοῦμαι διδάσκειν ὅτι βελτίων ὁ μὴ χωρῶν τὰ εὐτονώτερα καὶ μείζονα τῶν δογμάτων διὰ τὴν ἁπλότητα (οὐκ ἐσφαλμένα μέντοι γε φρονῶν) τοῦ ἐντρεχεστέρου μὲν καὶ ὀξυτέρου καὶ μειζόνως ἐπιβάλλον τος τοῖς πράγμασι τὸν δὲ τῆς εἰρήνης καὶ συμφωνίας τῶν ὅλων λόγον μὴ τρανοῦντος. ἔχει δὲ οὕτως αὐτῷ ἡ λέξις· «κρείσσων ξενισμὸς λαχάνων πρὸς φιλίαν καὶ χάριν ἢ μόσχος ἀπὸ φάτνης μετὰ ἔχθρας.» πολλάκις γοῦν ἀπεδεξάμεθα ἰδιωτικὴν καὶ ἁπλουστέραν μετὰ εὐσυνειδησίας ἑστίασιν, ξενιζόμενοι παρὰ τοῖς πλέον ἡμῖν παρα σχεῖν μὴ δυναμένοις, ἤπερ λόγων ὕψος ἐπαιρομένων «κατὰ τῆς γνώσεως τοῦ θεοῦ,» μετὰ πολλῆς πιθανότητος ἀλλότριον καταγγέλλον τοῦ «τὸν νόμον καὶ τοὺς προφήτας» δεδωκότος πατρὸς τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ δόγμα. ἵνα τοίνυν μήτε δι' ἔνδειαν τροφῶν τὴν ψυχὴν νοσήσωμεν μήτε διὰ «λιμὸν λόγου κυρίου» τῷ θεῷ ἀποθάνωμεν, 20τὸν ζῶντα ἄρτον20, ὅστις ὁ αὐτός ἐστι 20τῷ ἐπιουσίῳ20, πειθόμενοι τῷ διδασκάλῳ σωτῆρι ἡμῶν, πιστεύοντες καὶ βιοῦντες δεξιώτερον, αἰτῶμεν παρὰ τοῦ πατρός. 27.7 τί δὲ καὶ τὸ «0ἐπιούσιον20,» ἤδη κατανοητέον. πρῶτον δὲ τοῦτο ἰστέον, ὅτι ἡ λέξις ἡ «0ἐπιούσιον20» παρ' οὐδενὶ τῶν Ἑλλή νων οὔτε τῶν σοφῶν ὠνόμασται οὔτε ἐν τῇ τῶν ἰδιωτῶν συνηθείᾳ τέτριπται, ἀλλ' ἔοικε πεπλάσθαι ὑπὸ τῶν εὐαγγελιστῶν. συνηνέ χθησαν γοῦν ὁ Ματθαῖος καὶ ὁ Λουκᾶς περὶ αὐτῆς μηδαμῶς διαφε ρούσης, αὐτὴν ἐξενηνοχότες. τὸ ὅμοιον δὲ καὶ ἐπ' ἄλλων οἱ ἑρμη νεύοντες τὰ Ἑβραϊκὰ πεποιήκασιν. τίς γάρ ποτε Ἑλλήνων ἐχρήσατο τῇ «ἐνωτίζου» προσηγορίᾳ ἢ τῇ «ἀκουτίσθητι» ἀντὶ τοῦ «εἰς τὰ ὦτα δέξαι» καὶ «ἀκοῦσαι ποίει σ<ε>«; ἰσομοία τῇ «0ἐπιούσιον20» προσηγορίᾳ ἐστὶ παρὰ Μωϋσεῖ γεγραμμένη, ὑπὸ θεοῦ εἰρημένη· «ὑμεῖς δὲ ἔσεσθέ μοι» «λαὸς περιούσιος.» καὶ δοκεῖ μοι ἑκατέρα λέξις παρὰ τὴν οὐσίαν πεποιῆσθαι, ἡ μὲν 20τὸν20 εἰς τὴν οὐσίαν συμβαλλόμε νον 20ἄρτον20 δηλοῦσα, ἡ δὲ τὸν περὶ τὴν οὐσίαν καταγινόμενον λαὸν καὶ κοινωνοῦντα αὐτῇ σημαίνουσα. 27.8 ἡ μέντοι κυρίως οὐσία τοῖς μὲν προηγουμένην τὴν τῶν ἀσω μάτων ὑπόστασιν εἶναι φάσκουσι νενόμισται κατὰ τὰ ἀσώματα, τὸ εἶναι βεβαίως ἔχοντα καὶ οὔτε προσθήκην χωροῦντα οὔτε ἀφαίρεσιν πάσχοντα (τοῦτο γὰρ ἴδιον σωμάτων, περὶ ἃ γίνεται ἡ αὔξη καὶ ἡ φθίσις παρὰ τὸ εἶναι αὐτὰ ῥευστὰ, δεόμενα τοῦ ὑποστηρίζοντος ἐπεισιόντος καὶ τρέφοντος· ὅπερ ἐὰν πλεῖον ἐν καιρῷ ἐπεισίῃ τοῦ ἀποῤῥέοντος, αὔξησις γίνεται, ἐὰν δὲ ἔλαττον, μείωσις· τάχα δέ τινα οὐδ' ὅλως τὸ ἐπεισιὸν λαμβάνοντα ἐν ἀκράτῳ, ἵν' οὕτως εἴπω, μειώσει γίνεται), τοῖς δὲ ἐπακολουθητικὴν αὐτὴν εἶναι νομίζουσι προηγουμένην δὲ τὴν τῶν σωμάτων ὅροι αὐτῆς οὗτοί εἰσιν· οὐσία ἐστὶν ἢ πρώτη τῶν ὄντων ὕλη, καὶ ἐξ ἧς τὰ ὄντα, ἢ τῶν σωμάτων ὕλη, καὶ ἐξ ἧς τὰ σώματα, ἢ τῶν ὀνομαζομένων, καὶ ἐξ ἧς τὰ ὀνο μαζόμενα, ἢ τὸ πρῶτον ὑπόστατον ἄποιον ἢ τὸ προϋφιστάμενον τοῖς οὖσιν ἢ τὸ πάσας δεχόμενον τὰς μεταβολάς τε καὶ ἀλλοιώσεις, αὐτὸ δὲ ἀναλλοίωτον κατὰ τὸν ἴδιον λόγον, ἢ τὸ ὑπομένον πᾶσαν ἀλλοί ωσιν καὶ μεταβολήν. κατὰ τούτους δὲ ἡ οὐσία ἐστὶν ἄποιός τε καὶ ἀσχημάτιστος κατὰ τὸν ἴδιον λόγον ἀλλ' οὐδὲ μέγεθος