Basil of Caesarea, Against Eunomius

in the light, they were crying out: We know who you are, the Holy One of God. But let us also see what follows. {ΕΥΝ.} For whether, he says, one, considering from the created things, should be led up from these to the essences 29.648 finding the Son to be a work of the unbegotten, and the Paraclete of the Only-begotten, and from the superiority of the Only-begotten confirming the difference of energy, he receives an indisputable proof also of the variation in essence. {ΒΑΣ.} First, then, how it is possible to reason about the essences from created things, I for my part do not see. For works are indicative of power, and wisdom, and art, but not of the essence itself. And it does not even necessarily present the entire power of the creator, it being possible at times for the craftsman not to deposit all of his strength in his energies, but often to use diminished efforts on the works of his art. But even if he should move his whole power to the work, even so it would be possible to measure his strength through his works, but not to apprehend his essence, whatever it may be. But if, on account of the simplicity and uncompounded nature of the divine, he posits the essence as co-extensive with the power, and because of the goodness present in God, he should say that the whole power of the Father was moved for the generation of the Son, and again the whole power of the Only-begotten for the hypostasis of the Holy Spirit, so that from the Spirit the power of the Only-begotten is contemplated, and along with it the essence, and again from the Only-begotten the power and essence of the Father are apprehended; consider the conclusion. For from the very things by which he attempted to establish the unlikeness of the essence, from these he was shown to be constructing the likeness. For if the power has nothing in common with the essence, how was he led from created things, which are the results of power, to the apprehension of it? But if essence and power are the same, that which characterizes the power will in every way characterize the essence also. So that created things, as you say, lead not to the unlikeness of the essence, but to the precision of the likeness. Again, however, this attempt establishes our argument rather than his. For either he is able to provide proofs of what he has said from nowhere, or if indeed he should take his images from human affairs, he will find that we do not come to a conception of the craftsman's essence from his works, but we recognize the nature of the one who has begotten from the one who is begotten. For it is not possible to apprehend the essence of the builder from his house; but from the offspring it is easy to understand the nature of the one who has begotten. So if the Only-begotten is a creature, he does not present to us the essence of the Father; but if he makes the Father known to us through himself, he is not a creature, but a true Son, and image of God, and character of his hypostasis. And so much for that. 29.649 But how great is the insertion of blasphemy? Having despised the threat in the Gospels, which the Lord most fearfully held over those who blasphemed the Holy Spirit, he says the Holy Spirit is a creature; almost not even granting it to be a living being, since this designation is, for the most part, applied to inanimate things. For it is not indeed worthy for us to abate any of our indignation, because he anticipated the Lord with this blasphemy. For this is not a consolation for his impiety, but an addition to his condemnation. Since even the Lord, through his goodness, forgave the blasphemy against himself; but he declared that the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is inescapable for those who dare it. He is the first, therefore, of those who have sprung up against the truth since the preaching of piety was proclaimed, who dared to utter this statement concerning the Spirit. For we have not heard of anyone to this day who has called the Holy Spirit a creature, or have we found this designation in the writings left by them. Then he says: {ΕΥΝ.} If one should be led up from created things to the apprehension of the essence, he will find the Son to be a work of the unbegotten, and of the

φωτὶ, ἐβόων· Οἴδαμέν σε τίς εἶ, ὁ ἅγιος τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ἴδωμεν δὲ καὶ τὰ ἀκόλουθα. {ΕΥΝ.} Εἴτε γὰρ, φησὶν, ἐκ τῶν δημιουργημάτων σκοπούμενός τις, ἐκ τούτων ἐπὶ τὰς οὐσίας ἀνάγοιτο 29.648 τοῦ μὲν ἀγεννήτου τὸν Υἱὸν εὑρίσκων ποίημα, τοῦ δὲ Μονογενοῦς τὸν Παράκλητον, κἀκ τῆς τοῦ Μονογενοῦς ὑπεροχῆς τὴν τῆς ἐνεργείας διαφορὰν πιστού μενος, ἀναμφισβήτητον λαμβάνει καὶ τῆς κατ' οὐσίαν παραλλαγῆς τὴν ἀπόδειξιν. {ΒΑΣ.} Πρῶτον μὲν οὖν πῶς δυνατὸν ἐκ τῶν δη μιουργημάτων τὰς οὐσίας ἀναλογίζεσθαι, ἐγὼ μὲν οὐχ ὁρῶ. ∆υνάμεως γὰρ, καὶ σοφίας, καὶ τέχνης, οὐχὶ δὲ τῆς οὐσίας αὐτῆς ἐνδεικτικά ἐστι ποιήματα. Καὶ οὐδὲ αὐτὴν πᾶσαν τοῦ δημιουργοῦ τὴν δύναμιν ἀναγκαίως παρίστησιν, ἐκδεχομένου ποτὲ τὸν τεχνί την μὴ πᾶσαν ἑαυτοῦ τὴν ἰσχὺν ἐναποθέσθαι ταῖς ἐνεργείαις, ἀλλ' ὑφειμένοις πολλάκις ἐπὶ τῶν ἔργων τῆς τέχνης τοῖς τόνοις χρήσασθαι. Εἰ δὲ καὶ ὅλην τὴν δύναμιν ἐπὶ τὸ ἔργον ἀνακινήσειε, καὶ οὕτως ἂν ὑπάρχοι τὴν ἰσχὺν αὐτοῦ διὰ τῶν ἔργων ἀναμετρεῖ σθαι, οὐχὶ δὲ τὴν οὐσίαν, ἥτις ποτέ ἐστι, καταλαμ βάνεσθαι. Εἰ δὲ διὰ τὸ ἁπλοῦν καὶ ἀσύνθετον τῆς θείας φύσεως τῇ μὲν δυνάμει σύνδρομον τίθεται τὴν οὐσίαν, καὶ διὰ τὴν προσοῦσαν ἀγαθότητα τῷ Θεῷ ὅλην μὲν κεκινῆσθαι λέγοι τὴν τοῦ Πατρὸς δύναμιν εἰς τὴν γέννησιν τοῦ Υἱοῦ, ὅλην δὲ πάλιν τὴν τοῦ Μονογενοῦς εἰς τὴν ὑπόστασιν τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος, ὥστε ἐκ μὲν τοῦ Πνεύματος τὴν τοῦ Μονογενοῦς δύ ναμιν θεωρεῖσθαι, ὁμοῦ δὲ καὶ τὴν οὐσίαν, ἐκ δὲ τοῦ Μονογενοῦς πάλιν τὴν τοῦ Πατρὸς δύναμίν τε καὶ οὐσίαν καταλαμβάνεσθαι· σκοπεῖτε τὸ συναγόμενον. Ἐξ ὧν γὰρ ἐπεχείρησε τὸ ἀνόμοιον συστῆσαι τῆς οὐσίας, ἐκ τούτων ἐφάνη κατασκευάζων τὴν ὁμοιότη τα. Εἰ μὲν γὰρ οὐδὲν ἔχει κοινὸν ἡ δύναμις πρὸς τὴν οὐσίαν, πῶς ἐκ τῶν δημιουργημάτων, ἅπερ δυνά μεώς ἐστιν ἀποτελέσματα, πρὸς τὴν κατάληψιν αὐτῆς ὡδηγήθη; εἰ δὲ ταυτὸν οὐσία τέ ἐστι καὶ δύναμις, τὸ τὴν δύναμιν χαρακτηρίζον χαρακτηρίσει πάντως καὶ τὴν οὐσίαν. Ὥστε τὰ δημιουργήματα, ὡς σὺ φῂς, οὐ πρὸς τὸ ἀνόμοιον τῆς οὐσίας, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὴν ἀκρίβειαν τῆς ὁμοιότητος φέρει. Πάλιν μέντοι καὶ τοῦτο τὸ ἐγχείρημα τὸν ἡμέτερον μᾶλλον ἢ τὸν αὐτοῦ λόγον συνίστησιν. Ἢ γὰρ οὐδαμόθεν ἔχει παρασχέ σθαι τῶν εἰρημένων τὰς ἀποδείξεις, ἢ εἴπερ ἐκ τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων τὰς εἰκόνας λαμβάνοι, εὑρήσει οὐκ ἐκ τῶν ἔργων τοῦ τεχνίτου ἐν περινοίᾳ τῆς οὐσίας αὐ τοῦ γινομένους ἡμᾶς, ἀλλ' ἐκ τοῦ γεννηθέντος τὴν τοῦ γεγεννηκότος φύσιν ἐπιγινώσκοντας. Οὐ γὰρ ἐκ τῆς οἰκίας τὴν οὐσίαν τοῦ οἰκοδόμου καταλαβεῖν δυνατόν· ἐκ μέντοι τοῦ γεννήματος νοῆσαι ῥᾴδιον τοῦ γεγεννηκότος τὴν φύσιν. Ὥστε εἰ μὲν δημιούρ γημα ὁ Μονογενὴς, οὐ παρίστησιν ἡμῖν τοῦ Πατρὸς τὴν οὐσίαν· εἰ δὲ γνωρίζει ἡμῖν δι' ἑαυτοῦ τὸν Πα τέρα, οὐχὶ δημιούργημα, ἀλλὰ Υἱὸς ἀληθὴς, καὶ εἰκὼν τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ ὑποστάσεως χαρακτήρ. Καὶ ταῦτα μὲν τοιαῦτα. 29.649 Ἡ δὲ παρενθήκη τῆς βλασφημίας ὅση; Καταφρονήσας τῆς ἐν τοῖς Εὐαγγελίοις ἀπειλῆς, ἣν ὁ Κύριος τοῖς τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον βλασφημήσασι φοβερωτάτην ἐπανετείνατο, δημιούργημα λέγει τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον· μικροῦ μηδὲ ζῶον αὐτὸ εἶναι δι δοὺς, τοῖς ἀψύχοις, ὡς τὰ πολλὰ, τῆς προσηγορίας ταύτης ἐφαρμοζούσης. Οὐ γὰρ δὴ, ὅτι προέλαβε τῇ βλασφημίᾳ ταύτῃ τὸν Κύριον, καθυφεῖναί τι ἡμᾶς τῆς ἀγανακτήσεως ἄξιον. Οὐ γὰρ παραμυθία τοῦτο τῆς ἀσεβείας, ἀλλὰ προσθήκη τῆς κατακρίσεως. Ἐπεὶ καὶ ὁ Κύριος τὴν μὲν εἰς αὐτὸν βλασφη μίαν δι' ἀγαθότητα συνεχώρησε· τὴν δὲ εἰς τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον ἀναπόδραστον εἶναι τοῖς τολμήσασιν ἀπεφή νατο. Πρῶτος τοίνυν τῶν ἀφ' οὗ τὸ κήρυγμα τῆς εὐσεβείας περιαγγέλλεται ἐπιφυέντων τῇ ἀληθείᾳ, ταύτην ἐτόλμησε τὴν φωνὴν ἀφεῖναι περὶ τοῦ Πνεύ ματος. Οὔκουν τινὸς μέχρι τήμερον ἀκηκόαμεν δη μιούργημα τὸ ἅγιον Πνεῦμα προσειπόντος, ἢ ἐν τοῖς καταλειφθεῖσιν ὑπ' αὐτῶν λόγοις τὴν προσηγο ρίαν ταύτην εὑρήκαμεν. Εἶτά φησιν· {ΕΥΝ.} Εἰ ἐκ τῶν δημιουργημάτων ἀνάγοιτό τις πρὸς τὴν τῆς οὐσίας κατάληψιν, εὑρήσει τοῦ μὲν ἀγεννήτου τὸν Υἱὸν ποίημα, τοῦ δὲ