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God is unbegotten, he has known exactly what God is, and there is nothing greater than to know God according to his own nature, but this is eternal life, he who taught us that God is unbegotten will be found greater than what God has prepared for those who love him. For it is not possible for one who is a man to know any of those things; of which no eye has seen, nor ear has heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man. But indeed even sinners have heard the name 'unbegotten'. Therefore, having taught sinners the greater thing, either through himself or through another, God has reserved for the just the lesser thing and that which contributes nothing to eternal life. And how is this not absurd? 'Unbegotten' is neither a definition of God, nor a property. For these are convertible with those things of which they happen to be a definition or a property. For man is a rational, mortal animal, receptive of intellect and knowledge; and if something is a rational, mortal animal, receptive of intellect and knowledge, this is a man; but a property of man is the ability to laugh, and if something has the ability to laugh, it is a man. But if someone should concede that 'unbegotten' is said of God alone, it is not also the case that if something is God, this is unbegotten. Therefore the Son, being God, is not unbegotten. Therefore 'unbegotten' is neither a definition nor a property; for it is not convertible. That the Son is not a creature. If the Son is a creature of God, and every creature is a slave of the creator; Christ is a slave, and not Son of God. Therefore he did not take the form of a slave, being Lord, but he was a slave. The product does not share in the same power as the maker; therefore there is nothing common to the Son and the Father; not even creation, if indeed the Son is a product and not an offspring. If the Son is an offspring, as one of the offsp 29.689 rings, and every offspring is a creature, the Son is not a creature; for he is not an offspring like those. If God was not able to create things inferior to the one Son, because it is not in his nature; then neither will the Son create different things, but some one thing. If inferior things are created by an inferior being, and greater things by a greater being; then creation is through many, since not all of it is equal. If God is creative by nature, it will not be of one thing, but of many. For either he does not create another thing out of weakness, or out of envy and malice. If the Father's power created through the Son, the Father and not the Son is the creator, just as the tool is not the artisan. Therefore it is not then a lesser thing than is suitable for the Father to create the things that came to be through the Son. If God was ashamed to make the creation that exists through himself, he also does not accept its doxology. For what he was ashamed to make, he will not wish to be considered his own once they have come into being. If it is the same for God to create and to beget, since he is simple; it is also the same for him to save and to destroy, and to make alive and to kill. But if this is so, then salvation and destruction are the same, and life and death. If Christ is the power and wisdom of God, and these are uncreated and co-eternal with God (for he was never without wisdom or power); Christ is uncreated and co-eternal with God; but if, insofar as he is an energy, he is called power and wisdom of God, then we too might be called power and wisdom of the Lord, as he is of God. But this is absurd. If the Son is not eternal God, he is of necessity recent; if not true, false; if not by nature, by adoption. But it is for the impious to worship recent and false gods, and those not by nature. For there shall be for you, he says, no recent God; and Paul: But at that time, not knowing God, you were enslaved to those who by nature are not gods. Either those who so worship Christ are impious; or he is by nature and true God, and they are pious. If the Son is an effect, and not an offspring, he is neither the one who acted, nor indeed the thing effected (for the energy was something other than these), but also without hypostasis; for no energy has hypostasis. But if he is the thing effected, he is third from the Father, and not unmediated. For the one who acted is first, then the energy, and so the thing effected. If the Son is only-begotten because he alone was begotten from the only one; he would more properly be called only-created, being truly a creature according to Eunomius, but falsely called an offspring. If the Son alone is the creation of the Father, and all things are of the Son, when he said, 'All that is mine is yours,' it is possible to say; but when he added, 'And what is yours is mine,' according to Euno 29.692 mius this is no longer well said. For he could not belong to himself. It appears

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ἀγέννητός ἐστιν ὁ Θεὸς, ὅ τι ποτέ ἐστιν ὁ Θεὸς ἀκριβῶς ἔγνω, μεῖ ζον δὲ οὐδέν ἐστι τοῦ τὸν Θεὸν κατὰ τὴν αὐτοῦ φύσιν γνῶναι, ἀλλ' αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ αἰώνιος ζωὴ, ὁ διδάξας ἡμᾶς, ὅτι ἀγέννητός ἐστιν ὁ Θεὸς, μείζων εὑρε θήσεται ὧν ὁ Θεὸς ἡτοίμασε τοῖς ἀγαπῶσιν αὐτόν. Ἐκείνων γὰρ οὐδὲν δυνατὸν ἄνθρωπον ὄντα γνῶναι· ὧν οὔτε ὀφθαλμός τις εἶδεν, οὔτε οὖς ἤκουσεν, οὔτε ἐπὶ καρδίαν ἀνθρώπου ἀνέβη. Ἀλλὰ μὴν καὶ ἁμαρ τωλοὶ τὸ ἀγέννητος ὄνομα ἤκουσαν. Τὸ μεῖζον οὖν ἢ δι' ἑαυτοῦ ἢ δι' ἑτέρου ὁ Θεὸς τοὺς ἁμαρτωλοὺς διδά ξας, τὸ ἧττον καὶ μηδὲν εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον συντελοῦν τοῖς δικαίοις ἐφύλαξε. Καὶ πῶς οὐκ ἄτοπον; Τὸ ἀγέν νητος οὔτε ὅρος ἐστὶ Θεοῦ, οὔτε ἴδιον. Ταῦτα γὰρ ἀν τιστρέφει ἐκείνοις ὧν ὅρος ἢ ἴδιον τυγχάνουσιν. Ἄν θρωπος γὰρ ζῶον λογικὸν, θνητὸν, νοῦ καὶ ἐπιστήμης δεκτικόν· καὶ εἴ τι ζῶον λογικὸν, θνητὸν, νοῦ καὶ ἐπιστήμης δεκτικὸν, ἄνθρωπος τοῦτο· ἴδιον δὲ ἀνθρώπου τὸ γελαστικὸν, καὶ εἴ τι γελαστικὸν, ἄν θρωπος. Τὸ δὲ ἀγέννητος εἴ τις συγχωρήσει ἐπὶ μό νου Θεοῦ λέγεσθαι, οὐχ ἅμα καὶ εἴ τι Θεὸς, τοῦτο ἀγέννητον. Ὁ οὖν Υἱὸς, Θεὸς ὢν, οὐκ ἀγέννητός ἐστιν. Οὔτε γοῦν ὅρος οὔτε ἴδιον τὸ ἀγέννητος· οὐ γὰρ ἀντιστρέφει. Ὅτι οὐ κτίσμα ὁ Υἱός. Εἰ κτίσμα Θεοῦ ὁ Υἱὸς, πᾶν δὲ κτίσμα δοῦλον τοῦ κτίστου· δοῦλος ὁ Χριστὸς, καὶ οὐχ Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ. Οὐκ ἔλαβεν οὖν μορφὴν δούλου, Κύριος ὢν, ἀλλ' ἦν δοῦλος. Τὸ ποίημα τῷ ποιητῇ τῆς αὐτῆς δυ νάμεως οὐ κοινωνεῖ· οὐδὲν ἄρα κοινόν ἐστιν Υἱοῦ καὶ Πατρός· οὐδὲ ἡ κτίσις, εἴπερ ποίημα καὶ οὐ γέν νημα ὁ Υἱός. Εἰ γέννημα ὁ Υἱὸς, ὡς ἓν τῶν γεννη 29.689 μάτων, πᾶν δὲ γέννημα κτίσμα, οὐ κτίσμα ὁ Υἱός· οὐδὲ γὰρ γέννημα ὡς ἐκεῖνα. Εἰ ἐλάττονα ὁ Θεὸς δη μιουργεῖν οὐκ ἠδύνατο τοῦ ἑνὸς Υἱοῦ, διὰ τὸ μὴ πεφυκέναι· οὐδὲ ὁ Υἱὸς ἄρα διάφορα δημιουρ γήσει, ἀλλὰ ἕν τι. Εἰ τὰ ἐλάττω ὑπὸ ἐλάττονος δη μιουργεῖται, καὶ τὰ μείζονα δὲ ὑπὸ μείζονος· διὰ πολλῶν ἄρα ἡ κτίσις, ἐπεὶ οὐ πᾶσα ἴση. Εἰ δημιουρ γικὸς ὁ Θεὸς φύσει, οὐχ ἑνὸς ἔσται, ἀλλὰ πολλῶν. Ἢ γὰρ ἀσθενείᾳ ἄλλο οὐ δημιουργεῖ, ἢ φθόνῳ καὶ βασκανίᾳ. Εἰ διὰ Υἱοῦ Πατρὸς δύναμις ἐδημιούργησε, Πατὴρ καὶ οὐχ Υἱὸς ὁ δημιουργὸς, ὥσπερ οὐδὲ τὸ ἐργαλεῖον ὁ τεχνίτης. Οὐκ ἄρα οὖν ταπεινότερον ἢ κατὰ τὸν Πατέρα τὸ δημιουργεῖν τὰ ὑπὸ τοῦ Υἱοῦ γενόμενα. Εἰ τὴν δημιουργίαν τῆς οὔσης κτί σεως ἐπῃσχύνθη δι' ἑαυτοῦ ποιῆσαι ὁ Θεὸς, καὶ τὴν δοξολογίαν αὐτῆς οὐ προσίεται. Ἃ γὰρ ποιῆσαι ἐπ ησχύνετο, γενόμενα ἴδια νομισθῆναι οὐ θελήσει. Εἰ ταὐτὸν κτίζειν καὶ γεννᾷν τὸν Θεὸν, ἐπειδὴ ἁπλοῦς· ταὐτὸν καὶ τὸ σώζειν αὐτὸν καὶ ἀπολλύειν, καὶ ζωογονεῖν καὶ ἀποκτείνειν. Εἰ δὲ τοῦτο, ταὐτὸν ἄρα σωτηρία καὶ ἀπώλεια, καὶ ζωὴ καὶ θάνατος. Εἰ Θεοῦ Χριστὸς δύναμις καὶ σοφία, ταῦτα δὲ ἄκτιστα καὶ συναΐδια Θεῷ (οὐ γὰρ ἦν ποτε ἄσοφος καὶ ἀδύ ναμος)· ἄκτιστος καὶ συναΐδιος Χριστὸς Θεῷ· εἰ δὲ, καθὸ ἐνέργεια, δύναμις, καὶ σοφία Θεοῦ λέγεται, καὶ ἡμεῖς δύναμις καὶ σοφία Κυρίου λεγοίμεθα ἂν, ὡς αὐτὸς Θεοῦ. Ἀλλ' ἄτοπον. Εἰ μὴ ἀΐδιος Θεὸς ὁ Υἱὸς, ἐξ ἀνάγκης πρόσφατος· εἰ μὴ ἀληθινὸς, ψευ δής· εἰ μὴ φύσει, θέσει. Ἀσεβῶν δὲ προσφάτοις καὶ ψευδέσι καὶ μὴ φύσει λατρεύειν. Οὐκ ἔσται γάρ σοι, φησὶ, Θεὸς πρόσφατος· καὶ ὁ Παῦλος· Ἀλλὰ τότε μὴν, οὐκ εἰδότες Θεὸν, ἐδουλεύσατε τοῖς φύσει μὴ οὖσι θεοῖς. Ἢ ἀσεβεῖς οἱ οὕτω Χρι στῷ λατρεύοντες· ἢ φύσει καὶ ἀληθινὸς Θεὸς, καὶ εὐσεβεῖς. Εἰ ὁ Υἱὸς ἐνέργημα, καὶ οὐ γέννημα, οὔτε ὁ ἐνεργήσας, οὔτε μὴν τὸ ἐνεργηθὲν αὐτός ἐστιν (ἕτερον γὰρ ἦν ἡ ἐνέργεια παρὰ ταῦτα), ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀνυπόστατος· οὐδεμία γὰρ ἐνέργεια ἐνυπόστατος. Εἰ δὲ τὸ ἐνεργηθὲν, τρίτος ἐκ Πατρὸς, καὶ οὐκ ἀμε σίτευτος. Ὁ ἐνεργήσας γὰρ πρῶτος, εἶτα ἡ ἐνέρ γεια, καὶ οὕτω τὸ ἐνεργηθέν. Εἰ μονογενὴς ὁ Υἱὸς, διὰ τὸ μόνος ἐκ μόνου γεγεννῆσθαι· μονόκτιστος κυριώτερον ἂν λέγοιτο, κτίσμα μὲν ἀληθῶς κατ' Εὐ νόμιον ὢν, γέννημα δὲ ψευδωνύμως καλούμενος. Εἰ ὁ Υἱὸς δημιούργημα τοῦ Πατρὸς μόνος, τὰ δὲ πάντα τοῦ Υἱοῦ, εἰπὼν, Τὰ ἐμὰ πάντα σά ἐστι, δυνατὸν εἰπεῖν· ἐπαγαγὼν δὲ, Καὶ τὰ σὰ ἐμὰ, κατ' Εὐνό 29.692 μιον οὐκέτι καλῶς. Αὐτὸς γὰρ ἑαυτοῦ εἶναι οὐκ ἠδύ νατο. Φαίνεται