33. Dwelling as I do in a desert place, yet, because of their effrontery who have turned away from the truth, I have not heeded those who will be glad to laugh at the feebleness and inadequacy of my exposition. But, having written briefly, I send it to your Piety, with many entreaties, that, when you read it, in part you will amend it, and, where it is feebly written, you will excuse it. In accordance with the Apostolic faith delivered to us by tradition from the Fathers, I have delivered the tradition, without inventing anything extraneous to it. What I learned, that have I inscribed conformably with the holy Scriptures; for it also conforms with those passages from the holy Scriptures which we have cited above by way of proof. It is no extraneous invention, but the Lord Jesus Christ himself, in his own Person, taught the woman of Samaria and us through her the perfection of the holy Triad, which is one Godhead indivisible. It is the Truth himself who bears witness, when he says to her: ‘Believe me, woman . . . the hour cometh and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in Spirit and in truth; for such doth the Father seek to be his worshippers. God is a Spirit, and they that worship him must worship in Spirit and in truth.’ From this passage it is clear that the Truth is the Lord himself; as he says, ‘I am the truth’, concerning whom the prophet David prayed, saying: ‘Send out thy light and thy truth.’ True worshippers, therefore, worship the Father, but in Spirit and Truth, confessing the Son and in him the Spirit. For the Spirit is inseparable from the Son, as the Son is inseparable from the Father. The Truth himself bears witness when he says, ‘I will send you the Paraclete, the Spirit of truth which proceedeth from the Father, whom the world cannot receive’, that is, those who deny that he is from the Father in the Son. Therefore we ought, after the pattern of true worshippers, to confess and side with the Truth. And if after these things they still have neither the will to learn nor the power to understand, let them at least cease from evil speaking. Let them not divide the Triad, lest they be divided from life. Let them not number the Holy Spirit with the creatures, lest, like the Pharisees of old, who ascribed to Beelzeboul the works of the Spirit, they for like presumption incur with these men the punishment which is without hope of pardon both here and hereafter.

Ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν καίπερ ἐν ἐρήμῳ διάγων, διὰ γοῦν τὴν ἀναίδειαν τῶν ἐκτραπέντων ἀπὸ τῆς ἀλη θείας, οὐ φροντίσας τῶν γελᾷν ἐθελόντων διὰ τὸ ἀσθενὲς καὶ ταπεινὸν τῆς διὰ τῶν λόγων ἀποδείξεως, δι' ὀλίγων γράψας, ἀπέστειλα τῇ σῇ εὐλαβείᾳ, πολλὰ παρακαλῶν, ἵνα, ἐντυγχάνων τούτοις, τὰ μὲν διορθώσῃ, ἐπὶ δὲ τοῖς ἀσθενῶς εἰρημένοις συγγινώσκῃς. Κατὰ γὰρ τὴν παραδοθεῖσαν ἡμῖν παρὰ τῶν Πατέρων ἀποστολικὴν πίστιν παρέδωκα, μηδὲν ἔξω θεν ἐπινοήσας, ἀλλ' ὅπερ ἔμαθον ἐνεχάραξα συμφώνως ταῖς ἁγίαις Γραφαῖς. Σύμφωνον γὰρ καὶ τοῦτο τοῖς προαποπεφασμένοις πρὸς βεβαίωσιν ἐκ τῶν ἁγίων Γραφῶν. Καὶ οὐκ, ἔξωθεν ἐπινενόηται, ἀλλ' αὐτὸς ὁ Κύριος Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς δι' αὐτοῦ ἐδίδα σκε τὴν Σαμαρεῖτιν, καὶ δι' αὐτῆς ἡμᾶς, τὴν τῆς ἁγίας Τριάδος τελειότητα, ἀδιαίρετον ὑπάρχουσαν καὶ μίαν Θεότητα. Αὐτὴ ἡ ἀλήθεια μαρτυρεῖ, ὥς φησι τῇ Σαμαρείτιδι· «Πίστευέ μοι, γύναι, ὅτι ἔρχεται ὥρα, καὶ νῦν ἐστιν, ὅτε οἱ ἀληθινοὶ προσκυνηταὶ προσκυνήσουσι τῷ Πατρὶ ἐν Πνεύματι καὶ ἀληθείᾳ· καὶ γὰρ ὁ Πατὴρ τοιούτους ζητεῖ τοὺς προσκυνοῦντας αὐτόν. Πνεῦμα ὁ Θεὸς, καὶ τοὺς προσκυνοῦντας αὐτὸν ἐν Πνεύματι καὶ ἀληθείᾳ δεῖ προσκυνεῖν.» ∆έδεικται τοίνυν ἐντεῦθεν, ὡς ἡ ἀλήθεια μὲν αὐτὸς ὁ Υἱός ἐστιν, ὡς αὐτός φησιν· «Ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ἀλήθεια·» περὶ οὗ καὶ ὁ προφήτης ∆αβὶδ ἐπεκαλεῖτο λέγων· «Ἐξαπόστειλον τὸ φῶς σου καὶ τὴν ἀλήθειάν σου.» Οἱ ἀληθινοὶ τοίνυν προσκυνηταὶ προσκυνοῦσι μὲν τῷ Πατρῖ, ἀλλ' ἐν Πνεύματι καὶ ἀληθείᾳ, ὁμολογοῦντες Υἱὸν καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ τὸ Πνεῦμα. Ἀχώρι στον γὰρ τοῦ Υἱοῦ τὸ Πνεῦμα, ὡς ἀχώριστος ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ Πατρός. Αὐτὴ ἡ Ἀλήθεια μαρτυρεῖ ἡ λέγουσα· «Πέμψω ὑμῖν τὸν Παράκλη τον, τὸ Πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας, ὃ παρὰ τοῦ Πατρὸς ἐκπορεύεται, ὃ ὁ κόσμος οὐ δύναται λαβεῖν,» τουτ έστιν οἱ ἀρνούμενοι αὐτὸ ἐκ τοῦ Πατρὸς ἐν τῷ Υἱῷ. Χρὴ τοίνυν κατὰ μίμησιν τῶν ἀληθινῶν ὁμολογεῖν καὶ προσδραμεῖν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ. Ἂν δ' ἄρα καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα μήτε μαθεῖν θέλωσι, μήτε νοεῖν δύνωνται· κἂν τῶν δυσφημιῶν παυέσθωσαν, καὶ μὴ διαιρείτω σαν τὴν Τριάδα, ἵνα μὴ διαιρεθῶσιν ἀπὸ τῆς ζωῆς· μηδὲ τοῖς κτίσμασι συναριθμείτωσαν τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, ἵνα μὴ, ὡς οἱ τότε Φαρισαῖοι τῷ Βεελζεβοὺλ τὰ τοῦ Πνεύματος ἀνετίθεσαν, οὕτω καὶ οὗτοι, τὰ ἴσα τολμῶντες, ἀσύγγνωστον καὶ ὧδε καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα τὴν τιμωρίαν μετ' ἐκείνων ὑπομείνωσιν.