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great is his strength,” and all such things in the Scripture, but his being also small, is shown in the third of Kings, where it says to Elijah the prophet: “behold a voice of a gentle breeze, and there was the Lord”; for it shows him as contained by the breeze, that is, of gentleness and smallness, but you have 'he himself' here, and in, “I am, and I have not changed.” The other, when he appeared to Ezekiel as a man of fire and electrum, and elsewhere: “his eyes as lamps,” and the rest; as a form of bronze and a furnace, which John says in the Apocalypse; and (14S_308> like, when he says he creates man according to his likeness; but unlike, in Isaiah, when he says, “to whom have you likened me, says the Lord,” as having nothing like him. And standing and immovable in saying to Moses concerning the rock, “here I have stood before you were there,” and similar things. But sitting where Baruch says: “You sit for ever, and we perish for ever”; and again: “he who sits upon the cherubim.” But moving, as when it says: “and he mounted upon a cherub and flew”; and again: “come, let us go down and confuse their tongues,” and, “he bowed the heavens and came down.” And these things for now, but in the detailed expositions the necessary points will be clarified.

This greatness is also infinite: Since God has a most perfect limit and is super-perfect and super-infinite, as in, “and of his kingdom there will be no end,” but he is also beyond all number; for even if God is called one and a unit, yet he is beyond the one. For 'one' in the proper sense indicates a relation to the many numbers from it and seems to be, as it were, the beginning of a multitude of numbers, nevertheless God has deigned to accept also the 'one' from among the things that come from him, since the one is simple and indivisible in itself and uncompounded, but even so he is super-unified, instead of, he is beyond the one; wherefore it is said, “and of his understanding there is no number.”

§ 3. Thus therefore in God is the small: For all beings, both the very great and the exceedingly small, partake of the participation of the small; for none of beings has escaped the small which appears in all things; or that from the small proceeds to the greater (14S_310> those things in growth, this the father says, or that in the greater the small is observed and not in the small the greater, in virtue of its being greater.

And penetrating: From this is shown the exceeding keenness of God's penetration even into incorporeal things; for to penetrate to the division of soul and spirit seems to be thus; this reveals that even the very incorporeal and uniform nature of the soul can be divided by God. Wherefore God also knows the thoughts which the mind, being moved and active, thinks, and of such great incorporeality and indivisibility (for what is between mind and thought?), God passes through the middle, as it is also said: “you have understood my thoughts from afar”; but also between the soul and the spirit, that is, in which we have our senses supported, through which the soul also approaches sensible things, and we have the discursive faculty of thoughts, God passes through unhindered. And this spirit the wise among the Greeks call a power and, as it were, a second, sensitive soul of the soul; this sensitive soul, therefore, is that which extends to the marrow and veins and arteries and bones and the whole body.

§ 4. Undiminished, unbegotten: Note in how many ways the meaning of 'unbegotten' is taken, either that which has not yet come to be, but will be born, as Sarah said, “it has not yet happened to me,” or as uncompleted, like the tower in Calneh; or by someone, as in, “Paul an apostle not from men”; or this, as “Justus one of the twelve”; or in no way existing at all, as the monstrosities told by the Greeks, Scylla and Chimaera and the like. Specifically, therefore, and (14S_312> absolutely is 'unbegotten' used of God. On the same subject. Having called God unbegotten, he cleanses away the contradictory interpretations of the name, and says. See that you do not take the word as referring to being begotten, as if God has the one above

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μεγάλη ἡ ἰσχύς αὐτοῦ», καί ὅσα τοιαῦτα ἐν τῇ Γραφῆ, τό δέ εἶναι καί μικρός, δηλοῦται ἐν τῇ τρίτῃ τῶν Βασιλειῶν, ἔνθα φησί πρός Ἠλίαν τόν προφήτην· «ἰδού φωνή αὔρας λεπτῆς, καί ἐκεῖ Κύριος»· δηλοῖ γάρ ὡς περιεχόμενον αὐτόν ὑπό τῆς αὔρας, ὅ ἐστι λεπτότητος καί σμικρότητος, τό δέ 'αὐτός' ἔχεις ἐνταῦθα, καί ἐν τῷ, «Ἐγώ εἰμι, καί οὐκ ἠλλοίωμαι». Τό δέ ἕτερον, ὅτε τῷ Ἰεζεκιήλ ὤφθη ὡς ἄνθρωπος ἐκ πυρός καί ἠλέκτρου, καί ἑτέρωθι· «οἱ ὀφθαλμοί αὐτοῦ ὡς λαμπάδες», καί τά λοιπά· ὡς εἶδος χαλκοῦ καί κλιβάνου, ὅπερ φησίν Ἰωάννης ἐν Ἀποκαλύψει· καί (14S_308> ὅμοιος, ὅτε καθ' ὁμοιότητα αὐτοῦ λέγει δημιουργεῖν τόν ἄνθρωπον· ἀνόμοιος δέ, ἐν Ἠσαΐᾳ, ὅταν λέγῃ, «τίνι με ὡμοιώσατε, λέγει Κύριος», ἅτε οὐδέν ἔχων ὅμοιον. Καί ἑστώς καί ἀκίνητος ἐν τῷ λέγειν Μωϋσεῖ περί τῆς πέτρας, «ὧδε ἐγώ ἕστηκα πρό τοῦ σε εἶναι ἐκεῖ», καί τά ὅμοια. Καθήμενος δέ ἔνθα ὁ Βαρούχ φησι· «Σύ καθήμενος εἰς τόν αἰῶνα, καί ἡμεῖς ἀπολλύμενοι εἰς τόν αἰῶνα»· καί πάλιν· «ὁ καθήμενος ἐπί τῶν χερουβίμ». Κινούμενος δέ, ὡς ὅταν λέγῃ· «καί ἐπέβη ἐπί χερουβίμ καί ἐπετάσθη»· καί πάλιν· «δεῦτε καταβάντες, συγχέωμεν τάς γλώσσας αὐτῶν», καί, «ἔκλινεν οὐρανούς καί κατέβη». Καί ταῦτα μέν νῦν, ἐν δέ ταῖς κατά μέρος ἐξηγήσεσι τά δέοντα σαφηνισθήσεται.

Τό μέγεθος τοῦτο καί ἄπειρόν ἐστιν: Ἐπειδή παντέλειον πέρας ἔχει ὁ Θεός καί ὑπερτέλειος ὤν καί ὑπεράπειρός ἐστιν, ὡς τό, «καί τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔσται πέρας», ἀλλά καί ὑπέρ πάντα ἐστίν ἀριθμόν· εἰ γάρ καί λέγοιτο ὁ Θεός εἰς καί ἕν, ἀλλ' οὖν ὑπέρ τό ἕν ἐστι. Κυρίως μέν γάρ τό 'ἕν' σχέσιν δηλοῖ πρός τούς ἐξ αὐτοῦ πολλούς ἀριθμούς καί οἱονεί ἀρχή πλήθους ἀριθμῶν εἶναι δοκεῖ, ὅμως ἠξίωσεν ὁ Θεός καί τό ἕν ἐκ τῶν ἐξ αὐτοῦ δέξασθαι, ἐπειδή τό ἕν ἁπλοῦν ἐστι καί ἀμερές καθ' ἑαυτό καί ἀσύνθετον, ἀλλά καί οὕτως ὑπερήνωται, ἀντί τοῦ, ὑπέρ τό ἕν ἐστι· διό εἴρηται, «καί τῆς συνέσεως αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔστιν ἀριθμός».

§ 3. Οὕτως οὖν ἐπί Θεοῦ τό σμικρόν: Πάντα γάρ τά ὄντα, καί τά λίαν μεγάλα, καί τά ἄγαν μικρά, μετέχουσι τῆς τοῦ μικροῦ μετουσίας· οὐδέν γάρ τῶν ὄντων διέφυγε τό σμικρόν ἐν πᾶσιν ἀναφαινόμενον· ἤ ὅτι ἐκ μικροῦ πρός τό μεῖζον πρόεισι (14S_310> τά ἐν αὐξήσει, τοῦτό φησιν ὁ πατήρ, ἤ ὅτι ἐν τῷ μείζονι τό μικρόν ἐνθεωρεῖται καί οὐκ ἐν τῷ μικρῷ τό μεῖζον κατ' αὐτό τό μεῖζον εἶναι.

Καί διικνούμενον: Τό ὑπεροξύτερον τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ καί ἐπί τά ἀσώματα χωρήσεως ἐντεῦθεν δηλοῦται· τό γάρ διικνεῖσθαι ἄχρι μερισμοῦ ψυχῆς καί πνεύματος οὕτω γάρ ἔχειν δοκεῖ· τοῦτο ἀποφαίνει, ὅτι καί αὐτό τό ἀσώματον τῆς ψυχῆς ἑνοειδές ὑπό τοῦ Θεοῦ διαιρεῖσθαι δύναται. ∆ιό καί τάς ἐννοίας ὁ Θεός νοεῖ, ἅς ὁ νοῦς κινούμενος καί ἐνεργῶν νοεῖ, καί τῆς τοσαύτης ἀσωματίας καί ἀδιαιρεσίας (τί γάρ μεταξύ νοῦ καί νοήσεως;), ὁ Θεός μέσος χωρεῖ, ὡς καί εἴρηται· «σύ συνῆκας τούς διαλογισμούς μου ἀπό μακρόθεν»· ἀλλά καί μεταξύ τῆς ψυχῆς καί τοῦ πνεύματος, τουτέστιν ἐν ᾧ τάς αἰσθήσεις ἐπεστηριγμένας ἔχομεν, δι' οὗ καί τοῖς αἰσθητοῖς ἡ ψυχή προσβάλλει, καί τό διανοητικόν τῶν σκέψεων ἔχομεν, ἀκωλύτως χωρεῖ ὁ Θεός. Τοῦτο δέ τό πνεῦμα δύναμιν καί οἱονεί δευτέραν ψυχήν αἰσθητικήν τῆς ψυχῆς οἱ παρ' Ἕλλησι σοφοί καλοῦσιν· ἡ οὖν αἰσθητική αὕτη ψυχή ἐστιν ἡ μέχρι μυελῶν καί φλεβῶν καί ἀρτηριῶν καί ὀστέων καί ὅλου τοῦ σώματος διήκουσα.

§ 4. Ἀμείωτον, ἀγέννητον: Σημείωσαι ποσαχῶς λαμβάνεται τοῦ ἀγεννήτου ἡ σημασία, ἤ τό μήπω γενόμενον, γεννησόμενον δέ, ὡς ἡ Σάρρα εἶπε τό, «οὔπω μέν ἐμοί γέγονεν», ἤ ὡς ἀτελείωτον, ὡς ὁ ἐν Χαλάνῃ πύργος· ἤ ὑπό του, ὡς τό, «Παῦλος ἀπόστολος οὐκ ἐξ ἀνθρώπων»· ἤ τόδε, ὡς «Ἰοῦστος εἰς τῶν δώδεκα»· ἤ μηδαμῇ μηδαμῶς ὄν, ὡς ὅσα τερατεύονται Ἕλληνες, Σκύλλαν καί Χίμαιραν καί τά ὅμοια. Ἰδικῶς οὖν καί (14S_312> ἀπολύτως τό ἀγέννητον ἐπί Θεοῦ. Εἰς τό αὐτό. Εἰπών ἀγέννητον τόν Θεόν, τάς παλιμφήμους ἑρμηνείας τοῦ ὀνόματος ἀποκαθαίρει, καί φησιν. Ὅρα μή εἰς τό γεγεννῆσθαι δέξῃ τήν λέξιν, ὡς τοῦ Θεοῦ ἔχοντος τόν ὑπέρ