69.  That he, no less than any other, acknowledged that the Spirit is God, is plain from his often having publicly preached this truth, whenever opportunity offered, and eagerly confessed it when questioned in private.  But he made it more clear in his conversations with me, from whom he concealed nothing during our conferences upon this subject.  Not content with simply asserting it, he proceeded, as he had but very seldom done before, to imprecate upon himself that most terrible fate of separation from the Spirit, if he did not adore the Spirit as consubstantial and coequal with the Father and the Son.  And if any one would accept me as having been his fellow labourer in this cause, I will set forth one point hitherto unknown to most men.  Under the pressure of the difficulties of the period, he himself undertook the economy, while allowing freedom of speech to me, whom no one was likely to drag from obscurity to trial or banishment, in order that by our united efforts our Gospel might be firmly established.  I mention this, not to defend his reputation, for the man is stronger than his assailants, if there are any such; but to prevent men from thinking that the terms found in his writings are the utmost limit of the truth, and so have their faith weakened, and consider that their own error is supported by his theology, which was the joint result of the influences of the time and of the Spirit, instead of considering the sense of his writings, and the object with which they were written, so as to be brought closer to the truth, and enabled to silence the partisans of impiety.  At any rate let his theology be mine, and that of all dear to me!  And so confident am I of his spotlessness in this respect, that I take him for my partner in this, as in all else:  and may what is mine be attributed to him, what is his to me, both at the hands of God, and of the wisest of men!  For we would not say that the Evangelists are at variance with one another, because some are more occupied with the human side of the Christ, and others pay attention to His Divinity; some having commenced their history with what is within our own experience, others with what is above us; and by thus sharing the substance of their message, they have procured the advantage of those who receive it, and followed the impressions of the Spirit Who was within them.

Ἐπεὶ ὅτι γε παντὸς μᾶλλον ᾔδει τὸ Πνεῦμα Θεόν, δῆλον μὲν ἐξ ὧν καὶ δημοσίᾳ τοῦτο πολλάκις ἐκήρυξεν, εἴ ποτε καιρὸς ἦν καὶ ἰδίᾳ τοῖς ἐρωτῶσι προθύμως ἀνωμολόγησε: σαφέστερον δὲ πεποίηκεν ἐν τοῖς πρὸς ἐμὲ λόγοις, πρὸς ὃν οὐδὲν ἀπόρρητον ἦν αὐτῷ περὶ τούτων κοινολογουμένῳ: μηδὲ ἁπλῶς τοῦτο ἀποφηνάμενος, ἀλλ' ὃ μηδέπω πρότερον πολλάκις πεποίηκεν, ἐπαρασάμενος ἑαυτῷ τὸ φρικωδέστατον, αὐτοῦ τοῦ Πνεύματος ἐκπεσεῖν, εἰ μὴ σέβοι τὸ Πνεῦμα μετὰ Πατρὸς καὶ Υἱοῦ, ὡς ὁμοούσιον καὶ ὁμότιμον. Εἰ δέ μέ τις δέξαιτο κοινωνὸν ἐκείνου κἀν τοῖς τοιούτοις, ἐξαγορεύσω τι καὶ τῶν τοῖς πολλοῖς τέως ἀγνοουμένων: ὅτι τοῦ καιροῦ στενοχωροῦντος ἡμᾶς, ἑαυτῷ μὲν τὴν οἰκονομίαν ἐπέτρεψεν, ἡμῖν δὲ τὴν παρρησίαν, οὓς οὐδεὶς ἔμελλε κρίνειν οὐδὲ ἀποβάλλειν τῆς πατρίδος, ἀφανείᾳ τετιμημένους, ὡς ἐξ ἀμφοτέρων ἰσχυρὸν εἶναι τὸ καθ' ἡμᾶς εὐαγγέλιον. Καὶ ταῦτα διῆλθον, οὐχ ἵνα τῆς ἐκείνου δόξης ὑπεραπολογήσωμαι: κρείττων γὰρ τῶν ἐγκαλούντων, εἴπερ τινές εἰσιν, ὁ ἀνήρ: ἀλλ' ἵνα μὴ τοῦτον ὅρον τῆς εὐσεβείας νομίζοντες τὰς ἐν τοῖς γράμμασι μόνας τοῦ ἀνδρὸς εὑρισκομένας φωνάς, ἀσθενεστέραν τὴν πίστιν ἔχωσι, καὶ ἀπόδειξιν τῆς ἑαυτῶν κακουργίας τὴν ἐκείνου θεολογίαν, ἣν ὁ καιρὸς ἐποίει μετὰ τοῦ Πνεύματος: ἀλλὰ τὸν τῶν γεγραμμένων νοῦν δοκιμάζοντες καὶ τὸν σκοπὸν ἀφ' οὗ ταῦτα ἐγράφετο, μᾶλλον τῇ τε ἀληθείᾳ προσάγωνται καὶ τοὺς ἀσεβοῦντας ἐπιστομίζωσιν. Ἔμοι γοῦν εἴη καὶ ὅς τις ἐμοὶ φίλος, ἡ ἐκείνου θεολογία! Καὶ τοσοῦτον θαρρῶ τῇ περὶ τὸ πρᾶγμα τοῦ ἀνδρὸς καθαρότητι, ὥστε καὶ τοῦτο κοινοποιοῦμαι πρὸς ἅπασι: κἀκείνῳ μὲν τὰ ἐμά, ἐμοὶ δὲ τὰ ἐκείνου λογίζοιτο παρά τε Θεῷ καὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων τοῖς εὐγνωμονεστέροις! Οὐδὲ γὰρ τοὺς εὐαγγελιστὰς φαίημεν ἂν ὑπεναντία ποιεῖν ἀλλήλοις, ὅτι οἱ μὲν τῷ σαρκικῷ τοῦ Χριστοῦ πλέον ἐνησχολήθησαν, οἱ δὲ τῇ θεολογίᾳ προσέβησαν: καὶ οἱ μὲν ἐκ τῶν καθ' ἡμᾶς, οἱ δὲ ἐκ τῶν ὑπὲρ ἡμᾶς ἐποιήσαντο τὴν ἀρχήν: οὕτω τὸ κήρυγμα διελόμενοι πρὸς τὸ χρήσιμον οἶμαι τοῖς δεχομένοις, καὶ οὕτω παρὰ τοῦ ἐν αὐτοῖς τυπούμενοι Πνεύματος.