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consubstantial with God as His spirit and finger, as was shown in the first book, he mystically represents, prophesying in the 8th psalm: "For I will see the heavens, the works of your fingers." And Moses in Genesis says from God the Father to the Son and his Holy Spirit: "Let us make man in our image and likeness and let them rule over the things on the earth." For God did not take angels or other spirits as co-workers or advisors; "because the servant does not know what his master is doing." Nor is He ever found to have taken a creature as a partner in creation, as David sings in the 32nd psalm: "He who fashioned their hearts individually," and in the 138th: "my frame was not hidden from you, which you made in secret." And as Paul writes to the Romans: "For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?" that is, no one of the creation. For this "who" shows its breadth. And he showed, by not saying "make," but "let us make," that the Son and the Holy Spirit are not servants, but of one power and will; and by adding "in our image and likeness," that there is one essence in the Trinity; and that this was not said to angels who possess the "image and likeness" infinitely and incomparably less—if it is safe to say this, as a man, of the formless and unshaped and ineffable Trinity, for which reason the same cosmographer added: "And God made man; in the image of God he made him; male and female he made them; and he blessed them;" and again: "God saw that it was good." In which sayings, again, the perfect and harmonious and ordering and altogether bounteous nature of the self-sufficient and creative Trinity is mystically signified. Because Moses, or rather the God who instructed him, did not consider these things worthy of theaters and crowds; but of as many as were not going to transgress in these matters. For "God made," that is, the Son, "man in the image of God," that is, of the Father, "He made him, and God saw," that is, the Spirit, "that it was good, and He blessed them," that is, He sanctified them. And the "in the image," as it seems to me, must be understood, that from the divine breath we have the immortal spirit and a mind ever running and governing where it ought, and a wise reason pleasing to the one who gave it and able with faith to become the cause of procreation and of life and of the resurrection of the dead and of the moving of mountains; in addition to these, that we have also partaken of His goodness. Then also Paul, as was said a little before: "will also give life to our mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in us." And to the Hebrews, proclaiming that the ages have been made and creation established by the Holy Spirit, and addressing the Spirit as the word of God, as has already been mentioned, he writes: "By faith we understand that the ages were framed by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible," and again: "for he upholds all things by the word of his power," and the psalmist: "in wisdom you have made all things," that is, in your Spirit and in your Son. How then is the divine Spirit not without beginning and a creator and properly God, being inseparable from the one who breathed it forth and from the creator Son; the one who fashioned the ages, with which heaven and the things in it and everything, if anything is created, was brought forth; and who bears and governs all things by His own power; the one who, as soon as heaven, earth, and sea came to be, was moving over the water and making it life-giving and life-sustaining? For just as by saying in Job concerning the Son, "who alone stretched out the heavens," he does not remove from creation the Father from whom are all things and in whom all things consist—for how then would these things still be true?—so also it is not right to exclude the Spirit of God's wisdom and power and holiness from being a co-creator with God. And what greater proof for this could be found than the Spirit renewing and sanctifying in each baptism the

70

ὁμοούσιον αὐτὸ τῷ θεῷ ἅτε πνεῦμα αὐτοῦ καὶ δάκτυλον, ὡς ἐν τῷ πρώτῳ ἐδείχθη βιβλίῳ, μυστικῶς παριστῶν ἐν ηʹ ψαλμῷ προφητεύει· «ὅτι ὄψομαι τοὺς οὐρανούς, ἔργα τῶν δακτύλων σου.» καὶ Μωυσῆς δὲ ἐν τῇ γενέσει ἀπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ πατρὸς πρὸς τὸν υἱὸν καὶ τὸ ἅγιον αὐτοῦ πνεῦμα φησίν· «ποιήσωμεν ἄνθρωπον κατ' εἰκόνα καὶ ὁμοίωσιν ἡμετέραν καὶ ἀρχέτω σαν τῶν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς.» οὐ γὰρ ἀγγέλους ἢ ἄλλα πνεύματα ἔλαβεν συγχειρουργοὺς ἢ γνωμοδότας ὁ θεός· «ἐπειδὴ ὁ δοῦλος οὐκ οἶδεν, τί ποιεῖ αὐτοῦ ὁ δεσπότης.» οὐδὲ εὑρίσκεται πώποτε εἰς δημιουργίαν συμπαραλαβὼν κτίσμα, καθὰ ∆αυὶδ ψάλλει ἐν λβʹ ψαλμῷ· «ὁ πλάσας καταμονὰς τὰς καρδίας αὐτῶν,» καὶ ἐν ρληʹ· «οὐκ ἐκρύβη τὸ ὀστοῦν μου ἀπὸ σοῦ, ὃ ποίησας ἐν κρυφῇ.» καὶ ὡς Παῦλος Ῥωμαίοις γράφει· «τίς γὰρ ἔγνω νοῦν κυρίου; ἢ τίς σύμβουλος αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο;» τουτέστιν, τῆς κτίσεως οὐδείς. πλάτος γὰρ ἔχον τὸ «τίς» τοῦτο προφαίνει. ἔδειξεν δὲ τῷ μὲν μὴ εἰπεῖν «ποιήσατε», ἀλλὰ «ποιήσωμεν», ὡς οὐκ ἔστιν ὑπουργὸς ὁ υἱὸς καὶ τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα, ἀλλὰ δυνάμεως καὶ θελήσεως μιᾶς· τῷ δὲ ἐπαγαγεῖν «κατ' εἰκόνα καὶ ὁμοίωσιν ἡμετέραν», ὡς μία ἐστὶν οὐσία τῇ τριάδι· καὶ ὡς οὐ πρὸς ἀγγέλους εἴρηται τοῦτο τοῖς ἀπείρως καὶ ἀσυνεικάστως ἔν μείω τὴν «εἰκόνα καὶ ὁμοίωσιν» ἔχουσιν εἰ ἀκίνδυνον τοῦτο, ὡς ἄνθρωπον, εἰπεῖν τῆς ἀνειδέου καὶ ἀσχηματίστου καὶ ἀρρήτου τριάδος, διὸ ἐπήγαγεν ὁ αὐτὸς κοσμογράφος· «καὶ ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον· κατ' εἰκόνα θεοῦ ἐποίησεν αὐτόν· ἄρσεν καὶ θῆλυ ἐποίησεν αὐτούς· καὶ εὐλόγησεν αὐτούς·» καὶ πάλιν· «εἶδεν ὁ θεός, ὅτι καλόν.» ἐν οἷς ῥητοῖς αὖθις τῆς αὐτοτελοῦς καὶ γενεσιουργοῦ τριάδος τὸ τέλειον καὶ σύμφωνον καὶ κοσμητικὸν καὶ ἐπίπαν ἄφθονον σημαίνεται μυστικῶς. ἐπειδὴ ταῦτα θεάτρων μὲν καὶ πλήθους ἄξια οὐχ ἡγήσατο εἶναι ὁ Μωυσῆς ἤγουν ὁ ἐνηχήσας αὐτῷ θεός· τοσούτων δέ, ὅσοι μὴ παρανομεῖν ἐς ταῦτα ἔμελλον. «ἐποίησεν» γὰρ «ὁ θεός», τουτέστιν ὁ υἱός, «τὸν ἄνθρωπον κατ' εἰκόνα θεοῦ», τουτέστιν τοῦ πατρός, «ἐποίησεν αὐτόν, καὶ εἶδεν ὁ θεός», τουτέστιν τὸ πνεῦμα «ὅτι καλόν, καὶ εὐλόγησεν αὐτούς», τουτέστιν ἡγίασεν. τὸ δὲ «κατ' εἰκόνα», ὡς ἐμοὶ δοκεῖ, νοητέον, ὅτι ἐκ τοῦ θεϊκοῦ φυσήματος τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἀθάνατον ἔχομεν καὶ νοῦν ἀεὶ θέοντα καὶ κυβερνῶντα ἐφ' ὃ χρή, καὶ λόγον σοφὸν ἀρέσκοντα τῷ δεδωκότι καὶ δυνάμενον σὺν πίστει τεκνογονίας αἴτιον γίνεσθαι καὶ ζωῆς καὶ νεκρῶν ἐγέρσεως καὶ ὀρέων μεταθέσεως· πρὸς τούτοις, ὅτι μετειλήφαμεν καὶ τῆς αὐτοῦ ἀγαθότητος. εἶτα καὶ Παῦλος, ὡς μικρῷ πρόσθεν ἐλέχθη· «ζωοποιήσει καὶ τὰ θνητὰ ἡμῶν σώματα, διὰ τοῦ ἐνοικοῦντος αὐτοῦ πνεύματος ἐν ἡμῖν.» καὶ Ἑβραίοις τοὺς αἰῶνας γεγενῆσθαι καὶ τὴν κτίσιν ἐστηρίχθαι ὑπὸ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος καταγγέλλων καὶ ῥῆμα θεοῦ τὸ πνεῦμα, καθὰ ἤδη ἐμνημονεύθη, προσαγορεύων γράφει· «πίστει νοοῦμεν κατηρτίσθαι τοὺς αἰῶνας ῥήματι θεοῦ, εἰς τὸ μὴ ἐκ φαινομένων τὸ βλεπόμενον γεγονέναι,» καὶ πάλιν· «φέρων γὰρ τὰ πάντα τῷ ῥήματι τῆς δυνάμεως αὐτοῦ,» καὶ ὁ ψαλμῳδός· «πάντα ἐν σοφίᾳ ἐποίησας,» τουτέστιν ἐν τῷ πνεύματί σου καὶ τῷ υἱῷ σου. πῶς οὖν οὐκ ἄναρχον καὶ δημιουργὸν καὶ κυρίως θεὸς τὸ θεϊκὸν πνεῦμα τὸ ἀχώριστον τοῦ πνεύσαντος αὐτὸ καὶ τοῦ δημιουργοῦ υἱοῦ· τὸ τοὺς αἰῶνας κατασκευάσαν, μεθ' ὧν οὐρανός τε καὶ τὰ ἐν αὐτῷ καὶ πᾶν, εἴ τί ἐστιν κτιστὸν παρήχθη· καὶ πάντα τῇ ἑαυτοῦ δυνάμει φέρον τε καὶ διοικοῦν· τὸ παραυτίκα τοῦ γενέσθαι οὐρανόν, γῆν, θάλατταν ἐπιφερόμενον ἐπὶ τοῦ ὕδατος καὶ ζωογόνον καὶ ζωοτρόφον αὐτὸ ἀπεργαζόμενον; ὥσπερ γὰρ διὰ τὸ λέγειν ἐν τῷ Ἰὼβ περὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ· «ὁ τανύσας τὸν οὐρανὸν μόνος,» οὐκ ἀφιστᾷ μὲν τῆς δημιουργίας τὸν ἐξ οὗ τὰ πάντα καὶ ἐν ᾧ πάντα συνέστηκεν πατέρα πῶς γὰρ ἂν εἴη λοιπὸν ταῦτα ἀληθῆ;, οὕτως οὐδὲ τὸ τῆς σοφίας καὶ δυνάμεως καὶ ἁγιοσύνης πνεῦμα τοῦ θεοῦ ἐξωθεῖν τοῦ εἶναι συνδημιουργὸν τοῦ θεοῦ ὅσιον. καὶ ποῖα δὲ εἰς τοῦτο μείζων ἀπόδειξις ἂν εὑρεθείη τοῦ ἐφ' ἑκάστης ἐν τῷ βαπτίσματι ἀνακαινίζειν καὶ ἁγιάζειν τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ