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creator or raising the dead. For all things came to be through the Son without labor. For labor is a passion; and passion is a path to corruption. And not denying that the Master was incarnate without sin from the nature of Adam, that is from the virgin, or from our nature, do we say these things, but rather we even confirm this by saying that he was begotten of the Holy Spirit. Since, as has been said, the pre-eternal and pre-cosmic Spirit of God was also present from the beginning with the creator of our nature, not as one needing help, but with identity and equality of divinity and will, and as light not cut off from the light. Either agree, then, Macedonius, with the saints, who do not call the divine Spirit a creature, but that he proceeds from God, as his Spirit according to nature; or, as is your custom to say, that he is indeed inferior to God by nature, but superior to the angels, having received a certain middle nature and rank, show that they have so prophesied; for their words are justly preferred by God to yours and Arius's; and not as the law of art and sophistry allows, is it permitted for you, having dared, to utter your own words against the divine Spirit; whose divine nature you would not have been able in any way to perceive, not even if you had as many and such eyes of the mind as scripture has given to the cherubim. For who can grasp the invisible and incomprehensible divinity? Or, condemning your own impiety, yield to us and withdraw from the first place. 7.4 That he sanctifies and justifies 7.4 But let us return again to the original proposition, that he sanctifies and justifies as we said before. 7.5 That he provides salvation that he provides salvation even to those who have stumbled; which belongs only to the all-powerful substance. For it is impossible for a creature to do anything without God. “not even so much as to open the bright circles of the eyelids.” For the apostle said the following to the Philippians: “For I know that this will turn out for my salvation, through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.” as it is sung concerning the Father in Hosea: “Besides me you will not know; and there is no savior besides me;” and concerning the Son in the Acts: “and there is salvation in no one else. For there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” 7.6 That he frees from death and forgives sins that he frees from death and forgives sins, since he brings forth the fruit of immortality and mercy from the substance of the paternal root. But it is not possible for a creature either to be sinless or to do one of these things of its own accord. For none of the spirits, as was shown before, is sinless; nor perhaps, to speak hyperbolically, that which is not rational. For even heaven itself and the sun are not blameless in comparison to the purity of God. For even if the apostles are seen to have ever done such a thing, they did not succeed by their own power, but by the power of him who said: “in my name you will do greater things than these;” and by the power of the Spirit of the Father who spoke in them, as Paul teaches the Romans: “For the law of the Spirit in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and of death.” And the Master in John, giving back to us the Holy Spirit, which we had lost through the ancient disobedience, breathed on the faces of the disciples and said: “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” Here the authority of the ever-memorable Spirit is so great, that he both forgives sins through himself, and in his name and power the apostles and all who believe in him grant forgiveness of sins. That it belongs to God alone to be merciful to sinners, glorious sayings of God indicate: “For I,” he says, “am he who blots out your sins,” and: “if your sins are like scarlet, I will make them white as snow; if they are like crimson, I will make them white as wool.” And the Savior, as the Son of God, said to the paralytic: “Son, your sins are forgiven,” and: “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the

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δημιουργὸς ἢ νεκροὺς ἐγείρων. πάντα γὰρ διὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ ἐγένετο ἀπόνως. πόνος γὰρ πάθος ἐστί· πάθος δὲ ὁδὸς ἐπὶ φθοράν. οὐκ ἀρνούμενοι δὲ τὸν δεσπότην σεσαρκῶσθαι δίχα ἁμαρτίας ἐκ τῆς φύσεως τοῦ Ἀδάμ, ὅ ἐστιν ἐκ τῆς παρθένου, ἢ τῆς ἡμετέρας ταῦτά φαμεν, μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ βεβαιοῦμεν τοῦτο διὰ τοῦ λέγειν ἐκ πνεύματος ἁγίου γεγεννῆσθαι. ἐπειδή, ὡς εἴρηται, καὶ τὴν ἀρχὴν συμπαρῆν τὸ προαιώνιον καὶ προκόσμιον πνεῦμα τοῦ θεοῦ τῷ ποιητῇ τῆς ἡμετέρας φύσεως, οὐχ ὡς χρῄζοντι βοηθείας, ἀλλὰ σὺν ταυτότητι καὶ ἰσότητι θεότητος καὶ θελήσεως, καὶ οἷον μὴ ἀποτετμημένον τοῦ φωτὸς τὸ φῶς. ἢ σύσθητι οὖν, Μακεδόνιε, τοῖς ἁγίοις, κτίσμα τὸ θεῖον πνεῦμα μὴ ὀνομάζουσιν, ἀλλ' ἐκπεπορεῦσθαι ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ, ὡς πνεῦμα αὐτοῦ κατὰ φύσιν· ἤ, ὡς ἔθος σοι φάσκειν, ὅτι θεοῦ μὲν ἥττων τῇ φύσει, ἀγγέλων δὲ κρείττων ἐστίν, μέσην τινὰ φύσιν καὶ τάξιν εἰληχός, ἀπόδειξον κεχρησμῳδηκότας· τὰ γὰρ ἐκείνων δικαίως προτετίμηται παρὰ τῷ θεῷ τῶν σῶν καὶ τῶν Ἀρείου· καὶ οὐχ ὡς δίδωσιν ὁ τῆς τέχνης καὶ τῆς σοφιστείας νόμος, ἐξόν σοι θαρρήσαντι ἀφεῖναι κατὰ τοῦ θείου πνεύματος ἰδίους λόγους· οὗ τὴν θείαν φύσιν οὐδ' ἂν εἰ τοὺς τῆς διανοίας ὀφθαλμοὺς τοσούτους καὶ τοιούτους εἶχες, ὅσους καὶ οἵους ἔδωκεν ἡ γραφὴ τοῖς χερουβίμ, ἠδυνήθης ἂν κἂν ποσῶς γοῦν θεωρῆσαι. τίς γὰρ ἐπιδράττεται τῆς ἀφανοῦς καὶ ἀχωρήτου θεότητος; ἢ καταγνοὺς τῆς σεαυτοῦ ἀσεβείας εἴκων ἡμῖν τῶν πρωτείων ἀφίστασο. 7.4ν ὅτι ἁγιάζει καὶ δικαιοῖ 7.4 ἀλλ' ἐπανίωμεν πάλιν ἐπὶ τὴν ἐξ ἀρχῆς ὑπόθεσιν, ὅτι ἁγιάζει καὶ δικαιοῖ καθὰ προείπομεν. 7.5ν ὅτι σωτηρίαν χορηγεῖ ὅτι σωτηρίαν καὶ τοῖς ἀποσφαλεῖσιν χορηγεῖ· ὃ μόνης ἐστὶν τῆς παγκρατορικῆς οὐσίας. ἄνευ γὰρ θεοῦ πρᾶξαί τι κτιστόν, ἀμήχανον. «οὐδ' ὅσον ἀμπετάσαι βλεφαρῶν περιφαέα κύκλα.» ἔλεγεν γὰρ ὁ ἀπόστολος Φιλιππησίοις τοιάδε· «οἶδα γάρ, ὅτι τοῦτό μοι ἀποβήσεται εἰς σωτηρίαν, διὰ τῆς ὑμῶν δεήσεως καὶ ἐπιχορηγίας τοῦ πνεύματος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ.» καθὰ ὕμνηται περὶ μὲν τοῦ πατρὸς ἐν Ὠσηέ· «πλὴν ἐμοῦ οὐ γνώσῃ· καὶ σώζων οὐκ ἔστιν πάρεξ ἐμοῦ·» περὶ δὲ τοῦ υἱοῦ ἐν ταῖς πράξεσιν· «καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν ἄλλῳ οὐδενὶ ἡ σωτηρία. οὐδὲ γὰρ ἄλλο ὄνομά ἐστιν ὑπὸ τὸν οὐρανὸν τὸ δεδομένον ἐν ἀνθρώποις, ἐν ᾧ δεῖ σωθῆναι.» 7.6ν ὅτι θανάτου ἐλευθεροῖ καὶ ἁμαρτίας συγχωρεῖ ὅτι θανάτου ἐλευθεροῖ καὶ ἁμαρτίας συγχωρεῖ, ἅτε δὴ ἐκ τῆς πατρικῆς ῥίζης οὐσίας καρπὸν φέρον τὸ ἀθάνατον καὶ ἵλεω. κτίσματι δὲ οὐ δυνατὸν ἢ ἀναμάρτητον εἶναι ἢ ἓν τούτων οἴκοθεν ποιῆσαι. οὐδὲ γὰρ οὐδὲν τῶν πνευμάτων, ὡς προεδείχθη, ἀναμάρτητον· οὐδὲ τάχα, καθ' ὑπερβολὴν λόγου, ἡ μὴ οὖσα λογική. καὶ γὰρ ὁ οὐρανὸς αὐτὸς καὶ ὁ ἥλιος πρὸς τὴν τοῦ θεοῦ καθαρότητα οὐκ ἄμεμπτοι. εἰ γὰρ καὶ φαίνονται ἀπόστολοί ποτε τοιοῦτόν τι πράξαντες, οὐκ ἰδίᾳ δυνάμει περιεγένοντο, ἀλλὰ τῇ τοῦ εἰπόντος· «ἐν τῷ ἐμῷ ὀνόματι μείζονα τούτων ποιήσετε·» καὶ τῇ τοῦ πνεύματος τοῦ πατρὸς τοῦ λαλήσαντος ἐν αὐτοῖς, καθὰ Ῥωμαίους Παῦλος διδάσκει· «ὁ γὰρ νόμος τοῦ πνεύματος ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ ἠλευθέρωσέν με ἀπὸ τοῦ νόμου τῆς ἁμαρτίας καὶ τοῦ θανάτου.» καὶ ὁ δεσπότης δὲ παρ' Ἰωάννῃ, ἀποδιδοὺς ἡμῖν τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα, ὁ ἀπολέσαντες ἦμεν διὰ τῆς ἀρχαίας παρακοῆς, ἐνεφύσησεν εἰς τὰ πρόσωπα τῶν μαθητῶν καὶ εἶπεν· «λάβετε πνεῦμα ἅγιον. ἄν τινων ἀφῆτε τὰς ἁμαρτίας, ἀφίενται· ἄν τινων κρατῆτε, κεκράτηνται.» ἐνταῦθα τοσοῦτον τοῦ ἀειμνήστου πνεύματος τὸ αὐτεξούσιον, ὅτι αὐτό τε δι' ἑαυτοῦ ἁμαρτίας συγχωρεῖ, καὶ ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι καὶ τῇ δυνάμει αὐτοῦ οἱ ἀπόστολοι καὶ πάντες οἱ πιστεύοντες αὐτῷ ἄφεσιν ἁμαρτιῶν παρέχουσιν. ὅτι δὲ θεοῦ μόνου τὸ ἱλάσκεσθαι ἁμαρτάνουσιν, ἔνδοξοι θεοῦ ῥήσεις σημαίνουσιν· «ἐγώ», γάρ φησιν, «εἰμὶ ὁ ἐξαλείφων τὰς ἁμαρτίας σου», καί· «ἐὰν ὦσιν αἱ ἁμαρτίαι ὑμῶν ὡς φοινικοῦν, ὡς χίονα λευκανῶ· ἐὰν δὲ ὦσιν ὡς κόκκινον, ὡσεὶ ἔριον λευκανῶ.» καὶ ὁ σωτὴρ δὲ ὡς παῖς θεοῦ τῷ παραλύτῳ ἔφη· «τέκνον, ἀφέωνταί σοι αἱ ἁμαρτίαι», καί· «ἴδε ὁ ἀμνὸς τοῦ θεοῦ, ὁ αἴρων τὰς