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and sin, that is passion and weakness, is not found in the one Holy Spirit, since he is uncreated; so in none of the created things is the good and holy and powerful found in perfection, but by participation; and where these things are nowhere in perfection, nowhere is the uncreated. 3.28 For where there is darkness, nowhere is the light; and "where there is night, there is not day. whence" it has also been said to Hermes surnamed Trismegistus, "it is impossible for the good to be in generation, but only in the uncreated. And just as a participation of all things is given to matter, so also of the good." 3.29 Therefore the Holy Spirit is like and equal to the divinity of the Father and of the only-begotten; and from the judgment of such things it is shown, that he himself is by nature holiness and goodness and power, since he is one from the one. Otherwise, according to their contentiousness, neither will the most good Son, gracious by nature, still be good; since he does not have the "one God" united with him. nor indeed will the most philanthropic and wholly gracious Father and the Son have the aforementioned names of the divinity as distinguishing marks; but even through them they will be lowered, as it were, as is the custom for heretics to speak, to us their namesakes. But be merciful, O Holy Trinity. -'But the Son,' he says, 'having been co-begotten, has innate goodness, and all the other things that the Father has.' -But the Holy Spirit also, proceeding together with, is good by nature, and has all that God the Father has. 3.30 If therefore their discussion were about ordinary or worldly matters, it would be well for them at times to have need to invent some myths, and with supposed Aristotelian cleverness and with rhetorical art, as Eunomius does, to twist the matter and obscure the truth; 3.31 but now Paul teaches: 'If you do not believe, you will not understand,' and: 'The wisdom of men is foolishness with God.' And one must not reason sophistically about the oracles concerning the glorious Spirit, which are greater than human reasonings. For blame does not harm the Holy Spirit, nor do the reproaches and jests of the heretics, upon whom it has come to think wickedly, proceed further than hearing; but those who use such things will toil endlessly and will fare somewhat similarly to those who attempt to mock this light, which has its strength from the unapproachable light, and to defile it with their words. 3.32 But one must believe that the teaching from the saints is able to produce greater glory than that from men. It is therefore fitting for us to censure them, that through an excess of goodwill for their own heresy they do not shrink from dragging down, as far as it is in their power, the divine to the level of created effects with sophistries, and through these things to beget a love of destruction in the more simple and inexperienced, and to lead them into a desire for greater sins. 4.ν Concerning the heretics who say: 'God is spirit;' 'and how is the Holy Spirit the spirit of a spirit?' and again: 'Are not the angels therefore,' they say, 'from God and holy

and spirits of God?'

4.1 But while they dismiss the simple and straightforward and perfect things, and fill the intention of the sacred words with lack of knowledge, according to which God the Father wills his Spirit to be ranked with him, like the only-begotten Word, and secures his distinction from and superiority over creation, for which reason he is also glorified in the Trisagion, they say: 'How is the Holy Spirit the spirit of a spirit?' 4.2 That this is written has been shown; but the 'how' is beyond the mind and reason that we possess, and moreover is beyond the knowledge of angels. For as he is Father, God the Word was begotten from him; so from him and with him the Holy Spirit shone forth; and in this especially is shown his incomprehensibility, in that what appears and is impossible for creation is possible with him. Otherwise, what is the difference between the uncaused and life-giving nature and that which is created and given life? But it is not possible for the

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καὶ ἁμαρτία ἤγουν πάθος καὶ ἀδυναμία ἐν τῷ ἑνὶ ἁγίῳ πνεύματι οὐχ εὑρίσκεται, ἅτε ἀγενήτῳ· οὕτως ἐν οὐδενὶ τῶν γενητῶν τὸ ἀγαθὸν καὶ ἅγιον καὶ δυνατὸν κατὰ τὸ τέλειον, ἀλλὰ κατὰ μετουσίαν· ὅπου δὲ οὐδαμοῦ ταῦτα κατὰ τὸ τέλειον, οὐδαμοῦ τὸ ἀγένητον. 3.28 ἔνθα γὰρ σκότος, οὐδαμοῦ τὸ φῶς· καὶ «ὅπου νύξ, οὐχ ἡμέρα. ὅθεν» εἴρηται καὶ τῷ Ἑρμῇ τῷ ἐπίκλην Τρισμεγίστῳ «ἀδύνατον ἐν γενέσει εἶναι τἀγαθόν, ἐν μόνῳ δὲ τῷ ἀγενήτῳ. ὥσπερ δὲ μετουσία πάντων ἐστὶν τῇ ὕλῃ δεδομένη, οὕτω καὶ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ.» 3.29 ὅμοιον τοίνυν καὶ ἴσον τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα τῆς τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ τοῦ μονογενοῦς θεότητος· καὶ ἐκ τῆς τῶν τοιούτων δείκνυται κρίσεως, αὐτὸ τῇ φύσει ἁγιότης καὶ ἀγαθότης καὶ δύναμις ὑπάρχον, ἅτε ἓν ὂν ἐκ τοῦ ἑνός. ἐπεὶ πρὸς τὴν ἐκείνων ἐρισχελίαν οὔτε ὁ ἀγαθώτατος καὶ ἵλεως τὴν φύσιν υἱὸς ἔτι ἀγαθὸς ἔσται· ἐπειδὴ μὴ συνηνωμένον ἔχει τὸ «εἷς θεός». οὔτε μὴν ὁ φιλανθρωπότατος καὶ ὅλος ἵλεως πατὴρ καὶ ὁ υἱὸς ἕξουσιν ἐπίσημα τὰ μνημονευθέντα ὀνόματα τῆς θεότητος· ἀλλὰ καὶ δι' αὐτῶν ὑποβιβασθήσονται οἷον, ὡς ἔθος λαλεῖν αἱρετικοῖς, εἰς τοὺς ὁμωνύμους ἡμᾶς. ἵλαθι δέ, ἁγία τριάς. -ἀλλ' ὁ υἱός, φησίν, συναπογεννηθεὶς ἔμφυτον ἔχει τὴν ἀγαθότητα, καὶ τὰ ἄλλα ὅσα ὁ πατήρ. -ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα συνεκπορευθὲν κατὰ φύσιν ἐστὶν ἀγαθόν, καὶ ὅσα ὁ θεὸς πατήρ. 3.30 εἰ μὲν οὖν περὶ τῶν τυχόντων ἢ βιωτικῶν πραγμάτων ἦν αὐτοῖς ἡ διάλεξις, καλῶς ἂν αὐτοῖς ἐσθότε χρεία ἐγίνετο συμπλάσσειν μύθους τινάς, καὶ Ἀριστοτελικῇ δῆθεν δεινότητι καὶ τῇ ἐν λόγοις τέχνῃ, ὡς Εὐνόμιος, περιστρέφειν τὸ πρᾶγμα καὶ συσκιάζειν τὴν ἀλήθειαν· 3.31 νῦν δὲ διδάσκει Παῦλος· «ἐὰν μὴ πιστεύσητε, οὐδ' οὐ μὴ συνῆτε,» καί· «ἡ σοφία τῶν ἀνθρώπων μωρία παρὰ τῷ θεῷ.» καὶ οὐ χρὴ τὰ περὶ τοῦ ἐνδόξου πνεύματος λόγια τὰ μείζονα λογισμῶν ἀνθρωπίνων κατασοφίζεσθαι. οὐ γὰρ βλάπτει ψόγος τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα, οὐδὲ περαιτέρω τῆς ἀκοῆς προέρχονται οἱ ὀνειδισμοὶ καὶ τὰ σκώμματα τῶν αἱρετικῶν, οἷς ἐπῆλθε τὸ φαύλως φρονεῖν· ἀλλ' οἱ χρώμενοι τοιούτοις ἀπέραντα πονήσουσιν καὶ πράξουσιν παραπλήσιά πως τοῖς ἐπιχειροῦσιν ἀποσκώπτειν εἰς τοῦτο τὸ φῶς, τὸ ἐκ τοῦ ἀπροσίτου φωτὸς τὴν ἴσχυν ἔχον, καὶ μιαίνειν τοῖς λόγοις αὐτό. 3.32 πιστεύειν δὲ δεῖ τὴν ἐκ τῶν ἁγίων διδασκαλίαν τῆς παρ' ἀνθρώπων πλείονα δύνασθαι τὴν δόξαν ἐμποιεῖν. ἡμῖν τοίνυν ἁρμόζει ἐκείνοις ἐπιμέμφεσθαι τοῦ μὴ δι' ὑπερβολὴν εὐνοίας τῆς περὶ τὴν οἰκείαν αἵρεσιν καθέλκειν τό γε ἐπ' αὐτοῖς τὸ θεῖον εἰς τὰ τῶν κτισμάτων ἀποτελέσματα ταῖς σοφιστείαις, καὶ διὰ τούτων τίκτειν ἀπωλείας ἔρωτα τοῖς ἁπλουστέροις καὶ ἀπειροτέροις, καὶ προάγειν εἰς ἐπιθυμίαν ἁμαρτημάτων μειζόνων. 4.ν Περὶ τῶν λεγόντων αἱρετικῶν· πνεῦμα ὁ θεός· καὶ πῶς τοῦ πνεύματος πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμά ἐστιν; καὶ πάλιν· οἱ ἄγγελοι οὖν, φασίν, οὐκ εἰσὶν ἀπὸ θεοῦ καὶ ἅγιοι

καὶ πνεύματα τοῦ θεοῦ;

4.1 Ἀλλ' ἀποπεμπόμενοι μὲν τὰ ἁπλᾶ καὶ εὐθέα καὶ τέλεια καὶ ἀνεπιστημοσύνης ἀναπιμπλῶντες τῶν ἱερῶν λόγων τὴν προαίρεσιν, καθ' ἣν ἐθέλει ὁ θεὸς πατὴρ τὸ πνεῦμα αὐτοῦ συντάττεσθαι αὐτῷ, ὡς τὸν μονογενῆ λόγον, καὶ τὸ ἐξῃρημένον αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τῆς κτίσεως καὶ ὑπερέχον ἀσφαλίζεται, διὸ καὶ τρισαγιολογεῖται, φασίν· πῶς τοῦ πνεύματος πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμά ἐστιν; 4.2 ὅτι δὲ τοῦτο γέγραπται, δέδεικται· τὸ δὲ πῶς, νοῦ καὶ λόγου τοῦ καθ' ἡμᾶς, ἔτι δὲ καὶ ἀγγέλων γνώσεως ἐπέκεινα τυγχάνει. ὡς γὰρ πατρὸς ὑπάρχοντος αὐτοῦ, ἐγεννήθη ἐξ αὐτοῦ ὁ θεὸς λόγος· οὕτως ἐξ αὐτοῦ καὶ σὺν αὐτῷ ἐξεφάνη τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα· δείκνυταί τε ἐν τούτῳ μάλιστα τὸ ἀκατάληπτον αὐτοῦ, ἐν τῷ τὸ φαινόμενον καὶ ὂν τῇ κτίσει ἀδύνατον εἶναι παρ' αὐτῷ δυνατόν. ἐπεὶ τίς ἡ διαφορὰ τῆς ἀναιτίου καὶ ζωοποιοῦ φύσεως καὶ τῆς δημιουργηθείσης καὶ ζωοποιουμένης; οὐκ ἐγχωρεῖ δὲ τὸ