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I will make a brief account of the truth, as in an epilogue comprehending the whole. Let him who has ears for the discernment of the right and not-so be initiated, as far as is possible, into the depth of the mystery; but put gates upon your own ears, as many of you as do not possess a most discerning mind, unless you offer yourselves obedient to those who are able to speak well, or rather, who are empowered by God, so that you may not name what is beyond your knowledge the foolishness of those who know well. But what is it that I say? And I beseech you, apply your mind.

The Holy Spirit, before the ages and from the ages and still, has as most particular to His unique existence the proceeding from the Father, the sole fontal divinity, that is, from that superdivine substance according to the paternal hypostasis alone, being superdivine and self-subsistent and (p. 320) according to it in no way lacking compared to the one who brought Him forth, or rather, in no way differing or divided, yet nonetheless of another hypostasis and self-hypostatic. And being thus from the Father, He is never separated from Him, and is no less united to the Son, both essentially and inseparably, resting upon Him and being His own and abiding in Him naturally always; for He is the dispenser of the Spirit. It is nothing new, then, if He is said to go forth both from Him and from His nature, yet according to the paternal hypostasis; and through Him and from Him He is naturally both given and sent and poured out and comes forth, being given and manifested through Him, and if you wish, even proceeding to those who are worthy. For if you hear of 'procession' in such cases, understand it as 'manifestation'; for 'to proceed' from God does not always signify a self-subsistent existence; for, it says, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.' Do you see that the things proceeding from God are many, for 'every' implies multitude, but the Holy Spirit is one, who also proceeds from God in a unique way above all things? And again: 'the crowds', it says, 'marveled at the words of grace proceeding from his mouth'. Is then the grace of the words self-subsistent, like the Spirit who proceeds from the Father alone? By no means; and yet the Lord called this grace Spirit, saying, 'the words that I speak are Spirit and are life'. But you see how grace is from the Son, and not it alone, but also all the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

For if from the belly of those who believe in Christ rivers of living water flow according to the promise ('for he who drinks', says the Lord, 'of the water that I will give him will become a spring of water leaping up to eternal life', (p. 322) which is the same as saying proceeding, according to 'and a spring was proceeding out of Eden'), if then from those made like the Son the Spirit, existing in them by grace, leaps up like a river, which is the same as saying springs forth and proceeds, how much more from the Son who by nature eternally and everlastingly has Him resting upon Himself and naturally conjoined.

But we shall not for this reason dogmatize that the Spirit proceeds from the Father and from the Son and from those made like the Son by grace; for most particularly He is from the Father, as having His pre-eternal and consubstantial existence from Him alone. For the Holy Spirit is both from the Father and of the Father, and being from the Father precedes in thought being of the Father; (for that something is, is conceived before whose it is, even if not in time) and for this reason He is of the Father, because He is from the Father, as also the great Basil says in his chapters Against the Eunomians: 'I understand the Spirit's affinity to the Father from the fact that He proceeds from the Father'. But from the

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βραχεῖ ποιήσομαι τῆς ἀληθείας, ὡς ἐν ἐπιλόγῳ τό πᾶν διαλαμβάνουσαν. Ὁ δ᾿ ἔχων ὦτα πρός διάκρισιν ὀρθοῦ καί μή τοιούτου μυείσθω κατά τό ἐγχωροῦν τό τοῦ μυστηρίου βάθος˙ πύλας δ᾿ἐπίθεσθε τοῖς ἑαυτῶν ὠσίν, ὅσοι μή κριτικωτάτην κέκτησθε διάνοιαν, εἰ μή τοῖς εὖ λέγειν δυναμένοις, μᾶλλον δέ παρά Θεοῦ δυναμουμένοις, πειθηνίους ἑαυτούς παρέχετε, ὡς ἄν μή τό ὑπέρ τήν ὑμετέραν γνῶσιν ἀφροσύνην τῶν εὖ εἰδότων ὀνομάσητε. Τί δέ ἐστιν ὅ λέγω; Καί συντείνατε παρακαλῶ τόν νοῦν.

Τό Πνεῦμα τό ἅγιον πρό αἰώνων καί ἀπ᾿ αἰῶνας καί ἔτι ἰδιαίτατον μέν ἔχει τῆς ἰδιοτρόπου ὑπάρξεως τό ἐκ τοῦ Πατρός, τῆς μόνης πηγαίας θεότητος, ἐκποερεύεσθαι, τουτέστιν ἐκ τῆς ὑπερθέου ἐκείνης οὐσίας καθ᾿ ὑπόστασιν μόνην τήν πατρικήν, ὑπέρθεος ὄν καί αὐτοουσία καί (σελ. 320) κατ᾿ αὐτήν τοῦ προσενεγκότος κατ᾿ οὐδέν ἀποδέον, μᾶλλον δέ μηδαμῶς διαφέρον ἤ διαιρούμενον, ἑτεροϋπόστατον δ᾿ ὅμως καί αὐθυπόστατον. Οὕτω δέ ὄν ἐκ τοῦ Πατρός, οὔτ᾿ αὐτοῦ διΐσταταί ποτε, καί τῷ Υἱῷ οὐχ ἧττον ἥνωται οὐσιωδῶς τε καί ἀδιαστάτως, αὐτῷ τε ἐπαναπαυόμενον καί ἴδιον αὐτοῦ ὑπάρχον καί ἐν αὐτῷ φυσικῶς διατελοῦν ἀεί˙ αὐτός γάρ ἐστιν ὁ τοῦ Πνεύματος ταμίας. Οὐδέν οὖν καινόν, εἰ καί ἐξ αὐτοῦ καί ἐκ τῆς φύσεως αὐτοῦ προϊέναι λέγεται, καθ᾿ ὑπόστασιν μέντοι τήν πατρικήν˙ καί δι᾿ αὐτοῦ καί ἐξ αὐτοῦ φυσικῶς καί δίδοται καί πέμπεται καί προχεῖται καί προέρχεται, δι᾿ αὐτοῦ διδόμενόν τε καί φανερούμενον, εἰ δέ βούλει καί ἐκπορευόμενον πρός οὕς ἄξιον. Καί ἐκπόρευσιν γάρ εἴπουπερ ἄν ἐν τοῖς τοιούτοις ἀκροάσῃ, τήν φανέρωσιν νόει˙ οὐ γάρ ἀεί τό ἐκπορεύεσθαι παρά Θεοῦ ὑπάρξεώς ἐστι σημαντικόν αὐθυποστάτου˙ «οὐκ ἐπ᾿ ἄρτῳ γάρ», φησί, «μόνῳ ζήσεται ἄνθρωπος, ἀλλ᾿ἐπί παντί ρήματι ἐκπορευομένῳ διά στόματος Θεοῦ». Ὁρᾷς ὅτι τά μέν παρά Θεοῦ ἐκπορευόμενα πολλά, πλήθους γάρ συνεκτικόν τό πᾶν, τό δέ Πνεῦμα τό ἅγιον ἕν, ὅ καί ἰδιοτρόπως παρά πάντα ἐκπορεύεται παρά Θεοῦ; Καί πάλιν˙ «ἐθαύμαζον», φησί, «οἱ ὄχλοι ἐπί τοῖς λόγοις τῆς χάριτος τοῖς ἐκπορευομένοις ἐκ τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ». Ἄρ᾿ οὖν ἡ τῶν λόγων χάρις αὐθυπόστατος, ὥσπερ τό Πνεῦμα τό ἐκπορευόμενον παρά μόνου τοῦ Πατρός; Ἄπαγε˙ καίτοι ταύτην τήν χάριν ὁ Κύριος Πνεῦμα προσηγόρευσεν εἰπών, «τά ρήματα ἅ ἐγώ λαλῶ, Πνεῦμα εἰσι καί ζωή εἰσιν». Ἀλλ᾿ ὁρᾷς ὅπως ἐξ Υἱοῦ ἡ χάρις καί οὐκ αὐτή μόνον, ἀλλά καί πᾶσαι αἱ δωρεαί τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος.

Εἰ γάρ ἐκ τῆς τῶν πιστευόντων εἰς Χριστόν κοιλίας ποταμοί ρέουσιν ὕδατος ζῶντος κατά τήν ἐπαγγελίαν («ὁ πιών γάρ», φησίν ὁ Κύριος «ἐκ τοῦ ὕδατος, οὐ ἐγώ δώσω αὐτῷ γενήσεται πηγή ὕδατος ἁλλομένου εἰς ζωήν αἰώνιον», (σελ. 322) ταὐτόν δ᾿ εἰπεῖν ἐκπορευομένη, κατά τό «πηγή δέ ἦν ἐκπορευομένη ἐξ Ἐδέμ») εἰ οὖν ἐκ τῶν ὡμοιωμένων τῷ Υἱῷ ποταμηδόν ἅλλεται, ταὐτόν δ᾿ εἰπεῖν πηγάζεται καί ἐκπορεύεται τό Πνεῦμα κατά χάριν ἐνυπάρχον αὐτοῖς, πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἐκ τοῦ Υἱοῦ τοῦ κατά φύσιν προαιωνίως τε καί ἀϊδίως ἔχοντος ἑαυτῷ ἐπαναπαυόμενον αὐτό καί συνημμένον φυσικῶς.

Ἀλλ᾿ οὐ διά τοῦτο δογματίσομεν ἐκ τοῦ Πατρός καί ἐκ τοῦ Υἱοῦ καί ἐκ τῶν ὡμοιωμένων κατά χάριν τῷ Υἱῷ ἐκπορεύεσθαι τό Πνεῦμα˙ ἰδιαίτατα γάρ ἐκ τοῦ Πατρός, ὡς ἐξ αὐτοῦ μόνου τήν ὕπαρξιν ἔχον τήν προαιώνιόν τε καί ὁμοούσιον. Ἔστι γάρ καί ἐκ τοῦ Πατρός καί τοῦ Πατρός τό Πνεῦμα τό ἅγιον, καί προηγεῖται τῇ ἐπινοίᾳ τοῦ εἶναι Πατρός τό ἐκ τοῦ Πατρός εἶναι˙ (τό γάρ εἶναί τι προθεωρεῖται τοῦ τίνος εἶναι, εἰ καί μή κατά χρόνον) καί διά τοῦτο τοῦ Πατρός, ὅτι ἐκ Πατρός, ὡς καί ὁ μέγας Βασίλειος ἐν τοῖς Πρός Εὐνομιανούς φησι κεφαλαίοις˙ «τήν πρός τόν Πατέρα οἰκειότητα νοῶ τοῦ Πνεύματος, ἐπειδή παρά τοῦ Πατρός ἐκπορεύεται». Ἐκ δέ τοῦ