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to the flock, saying that if they did not persuade them, they would leave them, and run to that great shepherd. But they said that they feared the emperor’s anger; "For since you are men, he will perhaps deem you worthy of no pardon, but to you, when you implore him, he will surely grant some mercy, and one of two things will happen: either he will accept the supplication, or if he is not persuaded, he will send you away unharmed." Accepting this suggestion, the praiseworthy women with their customary magnificence approached the em 137 peror, so that, judging them to be distinguished from their dress, he might deem them worthy of respect and mercy. Having thus approached, they supplicated him to pity so great a city deprived of its shepherd and made vulnerable to the plots of wolves. But he said that the city did not need another shepherd, but that it had a shepherd capable of providing for it. For after the great Liberius, one of his deacons had been ordained (Felix was his name), who kept inviolate the faith set forth at Nicaea, but communed without fear with those who corrupted it. Yet no one of the inhabitants of Rome entered a house of prayer while he was inside; and these women said this to the emperor. For which reason, being moved, he ordered that most excellent man to return, and for both to govern the church jointly. When these letters were read in the hippodrome, the multitude cried out, saying that the emperor's vote was just; for the spectators were divided in two according to their colors from which they took their names, and it was necessary that one should lead these, and the other those. Thus mocking the emperor’s letters they uttered a common cry: "One God, one Christ, one bishop." For they considered it right to utter these very words. After these cries of the Christ-loving people, adorned with piety and justice, the divine Liberius returned, and Felix withdrew and dwelt in another city. I have attached these things to what happened to the bishops in Milan, preserving the harmony of the narrative. But I shall return again to the order of what has happened. For when the champions of the faith had been driven out, those who 138 were changing the emperor's mind to whatever they wished, thinking that they would very easily overthrow the faith that opposed them and confirm the teaching of Arius, persuaded Constantius to gather the bishops of the East and of the West at Ariminum, and to command that 'substance' and 'consubstantial' be removed from the faith, devices found by the fathers against the artifice of Arius; for they said that these things had caused the division of the churches. And when they came together, those who had partaken of the Arian plague attempted to deceive the multitude of those assembled, and especially the Westerners who were of simple character. They said that it was not necessary for the sake of two words, and these unwritten, for the body of the church to be torn asunder, but to say that the Son is like the Father in all things, and to omit 'substance' as an unwritten name. But perceiving the deception, they excommunicated those who said these things, and they themselves declared their own mind to the emperor by letter. For they said they were children and heirs of the fathers who had gathered at Nicaea: "If we should dare to take away anything of what was written by them or to add anything to what was best established, we would show ourselves to be bastards, becoming accusers of our fathers." And the letter written by them to Constantius will show more clearly their exact rule of faith. 139 "Letter written to the Emperor Constantius by the synod assembled "at Ariminum. "We believe that what was long ago decreed has come to pass both by the command of God and by the order of your piety. For "to Ariminum we, all the bishops from all the cities of the West, "came together to the same place, so that both the faith of the catholic church "might be made known and those who think the contrary might be made manifest. For as "we have found after long investigation, it seemed best that the faith "which has endured from of old, which

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ποίμνῃ, φάσκουσαι εἰ μὴ πείσαιεν, αὐτοὺς μὲν καταλείψειν, πρὸς δὲ τὸν μέγαν ἐκεῖνον δραμεῖσθαι ποιμένα. οἱ δὲ ἔφασαν δεδιέναι τὸν βασιλέως θυμόν· "ἄνδρας γὰρ ὄντας οὐδεμιᾶς ἴσως ἀξιώσει συγγνώμης, ὑμῖν δὲ ἀντιβολούσαις φειδοῦς δήπουθεν μεταδώσει καὶ δυοῖν θάτερον, ἢ τὴν ἱκετηρίαν δέξεται, ἢ μὴ πειθό μενος ἀπαθεῖς ἀποπέμψει". ταύτην δεξάμεναι τὴν εἰσήγησιν αἱ ἀξιέ παινοι γυναῖκες μετὰ τῆς συνήθους πολυτελείας προσῆλθον τῷ βα 137 σιλεῖ, ὅπως περιφανεῖς ἐκ τῆς ἐσθῆτος ὑπολαβὼν αἰδοῦς αὐτὰς καὶ φειδοῦς ἀξιώσῃ. οὕτω δὲ προσελθοῦσαι ἱκέτευον οἰκτεῖραι πόλιν τοσαύτην ποιμένος ἐστερημένην καὶ ταῖς τῶν λύκων ἐπιβουλαῖς εὐάλωτον γενομένην. ὁ δὲ ἔφη μὴ δεῖσθαι νομέως ἑτέρου τὴν πόλιν, ποιμένα δὲ ἔχειν προμηθεῖσθαι δυνάμενον. καὶ γὰρ ἐκεχειροτόνητο μετὰ τὸν μέγαν Λιβέριον τῶν διακόνων τις τῶν ἐκείνου (Φίλιξ ὄνομα τούτῳ ἦν), ὃς τὴν μὲν ἐκτεθεῖσαν ἐν Νικαίᾳ πίστιν ἄσυλον διε φύλαττε, τοῖς δέ γε διαφθείρουσι ταύτην ἀδεῶς ἐκοινώνει. οὐδεὶς μέντοι τῶν οἰκούντων τὴν Ῥώμην εἰς εὐκτήριον εἰσελήλυθεν οἶκον ἔνδον ὄντος ἐκείνου· τοῦτο δὲ καὶ αἱ γυναῖκες ἔφασαν ἐκεῖναι τῷ βασιλεῖ. οὗ δὴ χάριν ἐπικαμφθεὶς προσέταξε μὲν τὸν πάντα ἄριστον ἐκεῖνον ἐπανελθεῖν, κοινῇ δὲ ἀμφοτέρους τὴν ἐκκλησίαν ἰθύνειν. τούτων ἐν τῷ ἱπποδρόμῳ τῶν γραμμάτων ἀναγνωσθέντων, ἐξεβόησε τὸ πλῆθος, δικαίαν εἶναι λέγον τοῦ βασιλέως τὴν ψῆφον· διχῆ γὰρ διῃρῆσθαι τοὺς θεατὰς ἀπὸ τῶν χροιῶν τὰς ἐπωνυμίας ἔχοντας, καὶ χρῆναι τὸν μὲν τούτων, τὸν δὲ ἐκείνων ἡγεῖσθαι. οὕτω κωμῳδή σαντες τοῦ βασιλέως τὰ γράμματα κοινὴν ἀφῆκαν φωνήν· "εἷς θεός. εἷς Χριστός, εἷς ἐπίσκοπος". αὐτὰς γὰρ θεῖναι τὰς φωνὰς ὑπέλαβον δίκαιον. μετὰ ταύτας τοῦ φιλοχρίστου δήμου τὰς εὐσεβείᾳ καὶ δι καιοσύνῃ κοσμουμένας βοὰς ἐπανῆκε μὲν Λιβέριος ὁ θεσπέσιος, ὁ δὲ Φίλιξ ὑποχωρήσας ἑτέραν ᾤκησε πόλιν. ταῦτα τοῖς ἐν Μεδιολάνῳ τοῖς ἐπισκόποις συμβεβηκόσι συνῆψα, τὴν τοῦ διηγήματος ἁρμονίαν φυλάττων. ἐπὶ δὲ τὴν τῶν γεγενημένων πάλιν ἐπάνειμι τάξιν. Τῶν γὰρ τῆς πίστεως προμάχων ἐξελαθέντων, νομίσαντες οἱ 138 τὴν βασιλέως γνώμην μετατιθέντες εἰς ἅπερ ἐβούλοντο, εὐπετῶς μάλα καταλύσειν τὴν ἀντίπαλον αὐτοῖς πίστιν καὶ τὴν Ἀρείου βεβαιώσειν διδα σκαλίαν, ἔπεισαν τὸν Κωνστάντιον εἰς τὴν Ἀρίμηνον καὶ τοὺς τῆς Ἑῴας καὶ τοὺς τῆς Ἑσπέρας συναγαγεῖν ἐπισκόπους, καὶ προστάξαι τὴν οὐσίαν καὶ τὸ ὁμοούσιον περιελεῖν ἐκ τῆς πίστεως, τὰ κατὰ τῆς Ἀρείου. κακοτεχνίας ἐξευρεθέντα παρὰ τῶν πατέρων μηχανήματα· ταῦτα γὰρ ἔλεγον τὴν τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν πεποιηκέναι διαίρεσιν. ἐπειδὴ δὲ συνῆλθον, φενακίσαι μὲν ἐπειράθησαν οἱ τῆς Ἀρείου λώβης μετει ληχότες τῶν συναθροισθέντων τὸ πλῆθος, καὶ διαφερόντως τοὺς Ἑσπερίους ἁπλοῖς ἤθεσι κεχρημένους. ἔφασκον δὲ μὴ χρῆναι δυοῖν ἕνεκα λέξεων, καὶ τούτων ἀγράφων, διασπασθῆναι τῆς ἐκκλησίας τὸ σῶμα, ἀλλ' εἰπεῖν μὲν ὅμοιον τῷ γεγεννηκότι τὸν υἱὸν κατὰ πάντα, τὸ δὲ τῆς οὐσίας παραλιπεῖν ὡς ἄγραφον ὄνομα. ἀλλὰ τῆς ἐξαπάτης αἰ σθόμενοι τοὺς μὲν ταῦτα λέγοντας ἀπεκήρυξαν, αὐτοὶ δὲ τῷ βασιλεῖ τὴν οἰκείαν γνώμην διὰ γραμμάτων ἐδήλωσαν. παῖδες γὰρ ἔφασαν εἶναι καὶ κληρονόμοι τῶν ἐν Νικαίᾳ συνεληλυθότων πατέρων· "εἰ δέ τι τῶν παρ' ἐκείνων γραφέντων ἀφελεῖν ἢ προσθεῖναί τι τοῖς ἄριστα κειμένοις τολμήσαιμεν, νόθους ἑαυτοὺς ἀποφανοῦμεν, κατήγοροι τῶν γεγεννηκότων γιγνόμενοι." Σαφέστερον δὲ αὐτῶν τὸν ἀκριβῆ κανόνα τῆς πίστεως τὰ παρ' αὐτῶν γραφέντα πρὸς Κωνστάντιον ἐπιδείξει. 139 "Ἐπιστολὴ γραφεῖσα Κωνσταντίῳ βασιλεῖ παρὰ τῆς ἐν Ἀριμήνῳ "συναθροισθείσης συνόδου. "Ἔκ τε τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ κελεύσεως καὶ τοῦ τῆς σῆς εὐσεβείας προσ "τάγματος τὰ πάλαι δογματισθέντα γεγενῆσθαι πιστεύομεν. εἰς γὰρ "Ἀρίμηνον ἐκ πασῶν τῶν πρὸς δύσιν πόλεων εἰς τὸ αὐτὸ πάντες οἱ "ἐπίσκοποι συνήλθομεν, ἵνα καὶ ἡ πίστις τῆς καθολικῆς ἐκκλησίας "γνωρισθῇ καὶ οἱ τἀναντία φρονοῦντες ἔκδηλοι γένωνται. ὡς γὰρ ἐπὶ "πλεῖστον διασκοποῦντες εὑρήκαμεν, ἄριστον ἐφάνη τὴν πίστιν τὴν "ἔκπαλαι διαμένουσαν, ἣν