56

better than the one under authority, but man has free will, but the Son of God is under authority, man is better than the Son; which is absurd. And if one who is under authority is not able to make others have free will (for what he himself does not have, he cannot give to others by choice), the Savior, having made us have free will, would not be under authority to anyone. On the same topic. If the Savior could do nothing of himself, but at the command of the Father, he is neither good, nor bad. For he is the cause of nothing that has been done. And how is it not absurd for men to be mak 29.700 ers of both good and evil things of their own free will, but for the Son, being God, to be the maker of nothing by his own authority? On "I am the vine." If the Savior, they say, is a vine, and we are the branches, and the Father is the husbandman; the branches are of the same nature as the vine, but the vine is not of the same nature as the husbandman; the Son is of the same nature as us, and we are a part of him, but the Son is not of the same nature as the Father, but in all things alien. To whom we will say that he said we are branches not of his divinity, but of his flesh, according to the Apostle who said: For we are the body of Christ, and members in part; and again: Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? and elsewhere: As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy; and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly; and, As we have borne the image of the earthy, let us also bear the image of the heavenly. If Christ is the head of man, and God is the head of Christ, but man is not consubstantial with God Christ (for he is not God), but Christ is consubstantial with God (for he is God); therefore, God is not the head of Christ in the same way as Christ is the head of man. For the nature of creation and the creative divinity do not come together into one and the same thing. Therefore, the one is head of Christ as Father, the other of us as creator. If the will of the Father is that we believe in his Son (For this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life), the Son is not from will; since our believing in him is found to be either with him or before him. On "None is good." If the Savior is not good, he is necessarily evil; for he is simple, and does not admit of anything in between. And how is it not absurd for the maker of good things to be evil? and if life is good, and the words of the Son are life, as he himself said: The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life; how, upon hearing "Good teacher" from the Pharisee, does he say, "None is good except one, God"? For it was not merely on hearing "good" that he said, "None is good," but, good teach 29.701 er. He answered, therefore, as to one tempting him, as the Gospel says, or as to one who was ignorant that God is good, and not simply a good teacher. On "Father, glorify me." If the Son, asking to be glorified by the Father, asked divinely and not humanly; he asked for what he did not have. And the evangelist lies when he says: We have seen his glory; and the Apostle: They would not have crucified the Lord of glory; and David: And the king of glory shall come in. He does not, therefore, ask for an addition of glory, but for the manifestation of the economy to take place. On the same topic. If he truly asked from the Father for the glory which he had before the world was made, he asked for it having lost it. For he would not seek to receive what he had. If this is so, he had cast off not only the glory, but also the divinity. For glory is inseparable from divinity. Therefore, then, according to Photinus he was a mere man. It appears, therefore, that he said such things according to the economy of the humanity, not according to a lack of divinity. On "Firstborn of all creation." If before creation the Son is not a begotten thing, but a creature; he would be called first-created, and not firstborn. If, because he is called firstborn of creation, he is first-created, and being called firstborn from the dead, he would have died before the dead. But if he is called firstborn of the dead, because he is the cause of the resurrection from the dead; so also firstborn of creation, because he is the cause of bringing creation into being from non-being. If being called firstborn of creation,

56

τοῦ ὑπεξουσίου βέλτιον, ὁ δὲ ἄν θρωπος αὐτεξούσιος, ὁ δὲ Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ ὑπεξούσιος, ὁ ἄνθρωπος τοῦ Υἱοῦ βελτίων· ὅπερ ἄτοπον. Καὶ εἰ ὁ ὑπεξούσιος δὲ αὐτεξουσίους ποιεῖν οὐ δύναται (ὃ γὰρ αὐτὸς οὐκ ἔχει, ἄλλοις ἐκ προαιρέσεως διδόναι οὐ δύ ναται), ὁ Σωτὴρ, αὐτεξουσίους ποιήσας ἡμᾶς, οὐκ ἂν ὑπεξούσιος εἴη τινί. Εἰς τὸ αὐτό. Εἰ μηδὲν ὁ Σωτὴρ ἀφ' ἑαυτοῦ ποιεῖν ἠδύνατο, ἀλλ' ἐπιτάσσοντος τοῦ Πατρὸς, οὐδὲ ἀγαθὸς, οὐδὲ κακός. Οὐδενὸς γὰρ τῶν γενομένων αἴτιος. Καὶ πῶς οὐκ ἄτο πον ἀνθρώπους μὲν καὶ ἀγαθῶν καὶ κακῶν εἶναι ποιη 29.700 τὰς αὐτεξουσίως, τὸν δὲ Υἱὸν, Θεὸν ὄντα, μηδενὸς κατ' ἐξουσίαν εἶναι ποιητήν; Εἰς τὸ, «Ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ἄμπελος.» Εἰ ἄμπελος, φασὶν, ὁ Σωτὴρ, κλήματα δὲ ἡμεῖς, γεωργὸς δὲ ὁ Πατήρ· τὰ δὲ κλήματα ὁμοφυῆ μὲν τῇ ἀμπέλῳ, ἡ δὲ ἄμπελος οὐχ ὁμοφυὴς τῷ γεωρ γῷ· ὁμοφυὴς μὲν ἡμῖν ὁ Υἱὸς, καὶ μέρος ἡμεῖς αὐ τοῦ, οὐχ ὁμοφυὴς δὲ ὁ Υἱὸς τῷ Πατρὶ, ἀλλὰ κατὰ πάντα ἀλλότριος. Πρὸς οὓς ἐροῦμεν οὐ τῆς θεότητος αὐτοῦ, ἀλλὰ τῆς σαρκὸς εἰρηκέναι ἡμᾶς κλήμα τα, κατὰ τὸν Ἀπόστολον τὸν εἰπόντα· Ἡμεῖς γάρ ἐσμεν σῶμα Χριστοῦ, καὶ μέλη ἐκ μέ ρους· καὶ πάλιν· Οὐκ οἴδατε, ὅτι τὰ σώματα ὑμῶν μέλη Χριστοῦ ἐστι; καὶ ἐν ἄλλοις· Οἷος ὁ χοϊκὸς, τοιοῦτοι καὶ οἱ χοϊκοί· καὶ οἷος ὁ ἐπουράνιος, τοιοῦτοι καὶ οἱ ἐπουράνιοι· καὶ, Καθὼς ἐφορέσα μεν τὴν εἰκόνα τοῦ χοϊκοῦ, φορέσωμεν καὶ τὴν εἰκόνα τοῦ ἐπουρανίου. Εἰ ἀνδρὸς κεφαλὴ ὁ Χρι στὸς, Χριστοῦ δὲ κεφαλὴ ὁ Θεὸς, ἄνθρωπος δὲ τῷ Θεῷ Χριστῷ οὐχ ὁμοούσιος (οὐ γὰρ Θεὸς), Χρι στὸς δὲ Θεῷ ὁμοούσιος (Θεὸς γάρ)· οὐκ ἄρα ὡς ἀνδρὸς κεφαλὴ Χριστὸς, οὕτω Θεὸς Χριστοῦ. Ἡ γὰρ κτίσεως φύσις καὶ ἡ κτιστικὴ θεότης εἰς ἓν καὶ ταὐτὸν οὐ συμβαίνουσιν. Οὐκοῦν ὁ μὲν ὡς Πατὴρ κεφαλὴ Χριστοῦ, ὁ δὲ ὡς ποιητὴς, ἡμῶν. Εἰ τὸ θέλημα τοῦ Πατρός ἐστι τὸ πιστεύειν ἡμᾶς εἰς τὸν Υἱὸν αὐτοῦ (Τοῦτο γάρ ἐστι τὸ θέλημα τοῦ πέμψαντός με, ἵνα πᾶς ὁ θεωρῶν τὸν Υἱὸν, καὶ πιστεύων εἰς αὐτὸν, ἔχῃ ζωὴν αἰώνιον), οὐκ ἐκ θελήματος ὁ Υἱός· ἐπεὶ τὸ πιστεύειν ἡμᾶς εἰς αὐτὸν ἢ σὺν αὐτῷ, ἢ πρὸ αὐτοῦ, εὑρίσκεται. Εἰς τὸ, «Οὐδεὶς ἀγαθός.» Εἰ μὴ ἀγαθὸς ὁ Σωτὴρ, ἀνάγκῃ κακός· ἁπλοῦς γὰρ, καὶ οὐκ ἐνδεχόμενός τι τῶν ἐν μέσῳ. Καὶ πῶς οὐκ ἄτοπον τὸν τῶν ἀγαθῶν ποιητὴν κακὸν εἶ ναι; καὶ εἰ ἡ ζωὴ ἀγαθὸν, τὰ δὲ ῥήματα τοῦ Υἱοῦ ζωή ἐστιν, ὡς αὐτὸς εἶπε· Τὰ ῥήματα, ἃ λελάληκα ὑμῖν, πνεῦμά ἐστι καὶ ζωή ἐστι· πῶς, Ἀγαθὲ διδάσκαλε, ἀκούσας παρὰ τοῦ Φαρισαίου, Οὐδεὶς, φησὶν, ἀγαθὸς εἰ μὴ εἷς ὁ Θεός; Οὐ γὰρ ἀγα θὸς ἀκούσας μόνον, εἶπεν, Οὐδεὶς ἀγαθὸς, ἀλλὰ, δι 29.701 δάσκαλος ἀγαθός. Ὡς πρὸς πειράζοντα οὖν ἀπ εκρίνατο, ὥς φησι τὸ Εὐαγγέλιον, ἢ ὡς ἀγνοήσαντα, ὅτι Θεὸς ἀγαθός ἐστι, καὶ οὐχ ἁπλῶς διδάσκαλος ἀγα θός. Εἰς τὸ, «Πάτερ, δόξασόν με.» Εἰ δοξασθῆναι παρὰ τοῦ Πατρὸς αἰτῶν ὁ Υἱὸς, θεϊκῶς καὶ οὐκ ἀνθρωπίνως ᾔτει· ὃ οὐκ εἶχεν ᾔτει. Καὶ ψεύδεται ὁ εὐαγγελιστὴς εἰπών· Ἐθεασάμεθα τὴν δόξην αὐτοῦ· καὶ ὁ Ἀπόστολος· Οὐκ ἂν τὸν Κύριον τῆς δόξης ἐσταύρωσαν· καὶ ὁ ∆αβίδ· Καὶ εἰσελεύσεται ὁ βασιλεὺς τῆς δόξης. Οὐ προσθήκην οὖν δόξης αἰτεῖ, ἀλλὰ τῆς οἰκονομίας τὴν φανέρωσιν γενέσθαι. Εἰς τὸ αὐτό. Εἰ τὴν δόξαν ἣν εἶχε πρὸ τοῦ τὸν κόσμον γενέσθαι ἀληθῶς παρὰ τοῦ Πατρὸς ᾔτει, ἀποβαλὼν αὐτὴν ᾔτει. Οὐ γὰρ ἂν ὃ εἶχε λαβεῖν ἐπεζήτει. Εἰ δὲ τοῦτο, οὐ τὴν δόξαν ἀποβεβλήκει μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν θεό τητα. Ἀχώριστος γὰρ ἡ δόξα τῆς θεότητος. Ψι λὸς οὖν κατὰ Φωτεινὸν ἦν ἄνθρωπος ἄρα. Φαίνεται οὖν τὰ τοιαῦτα κατ' οἰκονομίαν τῆς ἀν θρωπότητος, οὐ κατ' ἔλλειψιν τῆς θεότητος εἰ ρηκώς. Εἰς τὸ, «Πρωτότοκος πάσης κτίσεως.» Εἰ πρὸ τῆς κτίσεως ὁ Υἱὸς οὐ γέννημά ἐστιν, ἀλλὰ κτίσμα· πρωτόκτιστος ἂν ἐλέγετο, καὶ οὐ πρωτότο κος. Εἰ, ἐπειδὴ πρωτότοκος τῆς κτίσεως εἴρηται, πρωτόκτιστός ἐστι, καὶ πρωτότοκος εἰρημένος τῶν νεκρῶν, προτελευτήσας ἂν εἴη τῶν νεκρῶν. Εἰ δὲ πρωτότοκος νεκρῶν εἴρηται, διὰ τὸ αἴτιος εἶναι τῆς ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀναστάσεως· οὕτω καὶ πρωτότοκος κτίσεως, διὰ τὸ αἴτιος εἶναι τοῦ ἐξ οὐκ ὄντων εἰς τὸ εἶναι παραγαγεῖν τὴν κτίσιν. Εἰ τὸ πρωτότοκος εἰ ρῆσθαι τῆς κτίσεως,