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truth by way of an addition placed in the interpretation of the Gospel, which was made by this holy Father, by Timothy Aelurus. But let it be, according to you, his. Let us therefore examine the meaning of the patristic expressions, and we shall know the truth. THEOD. This I do not permit to happen; for you must accept the expressions simply. [MAX. Tell me the difference, I beseech you, between simple expressions and various ones. THEOD. So that you may accept the expression as it is, and not investigate its meaning.] MAX. Manifestly you are introducing new and foreign rules to the Church, even concerning expressions. If, according to you, one must not investigate the expressions of the Scriptures and of the Fathers, we cast out all of Scripture, the Old and the New. For we have heard David saying: Blessed are they that search his testimonies, that seek him with their whole heart; as if no one can seek God without searching. And again: Give me understanding, and I will search your law, and I will keep it with my whole heart; as if the searching leads to the knowledge of the law, and knowledge with desire persuades the worthy to keep it in their heart, through the fulfillment of the holy commandments contained in it. And again: Your testimonies are wonderful, therefore has my soul searched them. And why does the proverbial word want us to investigate parables and riddles and obscure sayings? And why does the Lord, speaking in parables, want the disciples to understand, teaching the meaning of the parables? And why the command, Search the Scriptures, as they testify of him? And what does Peter, the chief of the apostles, want to teach, saying, Concerning which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently? And what of Paul, the divine apostle, saying: If our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost, in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the knowledge of Christ should shine unto them? It seems that you wish us to be likened to the Jews, who with simple expressions, as you say, that is, with the letter alone, having clogged their mind as with some rubbish, fell away from the truth, having the veil in their hearts, so as not to understand the Lord's spirit, which is hidden in the letter, concerning which he says: For the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. Let my lord be fully assured that I cannot bear to accept an expression without the meaning contained in it, lest I become a manifest Jew.

14. And when Theodosius heard this, he said: We ought to speak of one hypostatic energy of Christ.

we ought to speak. MAX. Let us consider the evil born of this, and let us flee this strange expression; for it belongs only to polytheistic heretics. For if we speak of the one energy of Christ as hypostatic, and the Son does not (152 concur in hypostasis with the Father and the Spirit, it is clear that neither does he concur in the hypostatic energy; but we are forced, just as for the Son, so also for the Father and for the Spirit, to assign hypostatic energies; and according to you, the blessed Godhead will have four energies: three which define the persons in whom they are, and one common one which signifies the natural community of the three hypostases; and according to the Fathers, if we accept their teaching, we shall be sick with a belief in four gods. For they declare that every energy is natural, but not hypostatic. And if this is truly so, as indeed it is, we shall be shown to be saying that there are four natures, four gods, differing from one another in both hypostasis and nature. Furthermore, who has seen or considered a particular energy of any of those things that by nature are brought under the species, and by nature are ordered under the common definition of the species? For that which is by nature common never becomes the property of one and only one. For the hypostatic marks, such as a hooked nose, or a snub nose, or

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ἀλήθειαν κατά προσθήκην τεθεῖσαν ἐν τῇ ἑρμηνείᾳ τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου, τῇ γενομένῃ ἐκ τοῦ ἁγίου τούτου Πατρός, ὑπό Τιμοθέου τοῦ Ἐλούρου. Ἔστω δέ καθ' ὑμᾶς αὐτοῦ. Ἐξετάσωμεν τοίνυν τήν διάνοιαν τῶν πατρικῶν φωνῶν, καί γνωσόμεθα τήν ἀλήθειαν. ΘΕΟ∆. Τοῦτο οὐ συγχωρῶ γενέσθαι· ἁπλᾶς γάρ τάς φωνάς ἀνάγκην ἔχεις δέξασθαι. [ΜΑΞ. Εἰπέ μοι τήν διαφοράν, ἱκέσιος γενόμενος, τῶν ἁπλῶν φωνῶν πρός τάς ποικίλας. ΘΕΟ∆. Ἵνα ὡς ἔστι τήν φωνήν δέξῃ, καί μή ἐρευνήσῃς τήν διάνοιαν αὐτῆς.] ΜΑΞ. Προφανῶς καινούς καί ξένους τῆς Ἐκκλησίας καί περί τῶν φωνῶν εἰσάγετε θεσμούς. Εἰ καθ' ὑμᾶς οὐ δεῖ ἐρευνᾷν τάς φωνάς τῶν Γραφῶν καί τῶν Πατέρων, ἐκβάλλομεν πᾶσαν τήν Γραφήν τήν Παλαιάν καί τήν Καινήν. Ἠκούσαμεν γάρ λέγοντος τοῦ ∆αβίδ· Μακάριοι οἱ ἐξερευνῶντες τά μαρτύρια αὐτοῦ, ἐν ὅλῃ καρδίᾳ ἐκζητήσουσιν αὐτόν· ὡς μηδενός χωρίς ἐρεύνης δυναμένου ἐκζητῆσαι τόν Θεόν. Καί πάλιν· Συνέτισόν με, καί ἐξερευνήσω τόν νόμον σου, καί φυλάξω αὐτόν ἐν ὅλῃ καρδίᾳ μου· ὡς τῆς ἐρεύνης ἀγούσης ἐπί τήν γνῶσιν τοῦ νόμου, καί τῆς γνώσεως πόθῳ πειθούσης τούς ἀξίους ἐν καρδίᾳ αὐτῶν φυλάξαι, διά τῆς πληρώσεως τῶν ἐν αὐτῷ κειμένων ἁγίων ἐντολῶν. Καί πάλιν· Θαυμαστά τά μαρτύριά σου, διά τοῦτο ἐξηρευνήσεν αὐτά ἡ ψυχή μου. Τί δέ παραβολάς καί αἰνίγματα καί σκοτεινούς λόγους ἐρευνᾷν ἡμᾶς βούλεται ὁ παροιμιακός λόγος; Τί δέ ὁ Κύριος ἐν παραβολαῖς λαλῶν βούλεται νοεῖν τούς μαθητάς, διδάσκων τῶν παραβολῶν τήν διάνοιαν; Τί δέ προστάσεων, Ἐρευνᾶτε τάς Γραφάς, ὡς μαρτυρούσας περί αὐτοῦ; Τί δέ ὁ τῶν ἀποστόλων κορυφαῖος Πέτρος διδάσκειν βούλεται, Περί ἧς σωτηρίας ἐξεζήτησαν, καί ἐξηρεύνησαν προφῆται, λέγων; Τί δέ Παῦλος ὁ θεῖος ἀπόστολος, λέγων· Εἰ κεκαλυμμένον ἐστί τό Εὐαγγέλιον, ἀλλ' ἐν τοῖς ἀπολλυμένοις, ὧν ὁ Θεός τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου ἐτύφλωσε τούς ὀφθαλμούς τῆς διανοίας αὐτῶν, εἰς τό μή διαυγάσαι αὐτοῖς τόν φωτισμόν τῆς γνώσεως τοῦ Χριστοῦ; Ὡς ἔοικεν, ἐξομοιωθῆναι ἡμᾶς βούλεσθε τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις, οἵτινες ἁπλαῖς ταῖς φωναῖς, ὡς λέγετε, τουτέστι μόνῳ τῷ γράμματι ὥσπερ τινι φορυτῷ ἐγχώσαντες τόν νοῦν, ἐξέπεσαν τῆς ἀληθείας, τό κάλυμμα ἔχοντες ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις αὐτῶν, τοῦ μή νοῆσαι τό κύριον πνεῦμα, τό ἐγκεκρυμμένον τῷ γράμματι, περί οὗ φησι· Τό μέν γράμμα ἀποκτένει· τό δέ πνεῦμα ζωοποιεῖ. Πληροφορηθῇ ὁ δεσπότης μου, ὅτι ἐγώ οὐκ ἀνέχομαι δέξασθαι φωνήν χωρίς τῆς ἐγκειμένης αὐτῇ διανοίας, ἵνα μή γένωμαι προφανής Ἰουδαῖος.

Ι∆ . Τοῦτο δέ ἀκούσας Θεοδόσιος, εἶπεν· Μίαν ἐνέργειαν τοῦ Χριστοῦ ὑποστατικήν

ὀφείλομεν λέγειν. ΜΑΞ. Σκοπήσωμεν τό τικτόμενον ἐκ τούτου κακόν, καί φύγωμεν τήν ξένην ταύτην φωνήν· μόνων γάρ αἱρετικῶν πολυθεούντων ἐστίν. Εἰ γάρ ὑποστατικήν λέγομεν τοῦ Χριστοῦ τήν μίαν ἐνέργειαν, οὐ (152 συμβαίνει δέ κατά τήν ὑπόστασιν τῷ Πατρί καί Πνεύματι ὁ Υἱός, δῆλον ὅτι οὔτε κατά τήν ὑποστατικήν ἐνέργειαν· ἀναγκαζόμεθα δέ ὥσπερ τῷ Υἱῷ, οὕτω καί τῷ Πατρί καί τῷ Πνεύματι ὑποστατικάς ἐνεργείας ἀπονεῖμαι· καί καθ' ὑμᾶς, τέσσαρας ἐνεργείας ἕξει μακαρία Θεότης· τρεῖς ἀφοριστικάς τῶν ἐν οἷς ἔστι προσώπων, καί μίαν κοινήν σημαντικήν τῆς κατά φύσιν τῶν τριῶν ὑποστάσεων κοινότητος· καί κατά τούς Πατέρας, εἴπερ αὐτῶν δεχόμεθα τήν διδασκαλίαν, τετραθεΐαν νοσήσομεν. Φυσικήν γάρ, ἀλλ' οὐχ ὑποστατικήν πᾶσαν εἶναι διαγορεύουσιν ἐνέργειαν. Καί εἰ τοῦτό ἐστιν ἀληθῶς, ὡς οὖν καί ἔστι, τέσσαρας φύσεις, τέσσαρας θεούς, διαφέροντας ἀλλήλων ὑποστάσει τε καί φύσει δειχθησόμεθα λέγοντες. Πλήν, τίς εἶδεν ἤ ἐθεώρησεν ἰδιάζουσαν ἐνέργειαν οἱανδήποτε τῶν ὑπό τό εἶδος φύσει ἀγομένων, καί ὑπό τόν κοινόν ὁρισμόν τοῦ εἴδους φύσει ταττομένων; Οὐδέποτε γάρ γίνεται τό φύσει κοινόν, ἑνός καί μόνου τινός ἴδιον. Τά γάρ ὑποστατικά σήμαντρα, οἷον, γρυπότης, ἤ σιμότης ἤ