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he remains faithful, he cannot deny himself. Read these things to those who contradict; and if they are persuaded, praise the good Lord, because through your zeal he has procured benefit for them also. But if they persist in disobeying, hold no discussion with them about doctrines. For the divine Apostle forbids wrangling about words, which is useful for nothing, to the ruin of the hearers. But you, keep the evangelical teaching inviolate, so that on the day of his appearing, having brought the deposit to the righteous Judge with the appropriate work, you may hear that thrice-desired voice: ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things; enter into the joy of your Lord.’ 146 TO THE MONKS IN CONSTANTINOPLE. Those who have armed their tongues against our God and Savior do nothing new or strange, by also shooting with falsehood at his devoted servants. For it is necessary for the servants, who are greatly grieved on his account, to share in the Master's outrage. And the Lord himself prophesied this, encouraging his holy disciples. For he spoke thus: 'If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also; if they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they call those of his household?' Then he encouraged them, showing that slander is easily detected. For he added: 'Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.' We have seen the truth of the divine prophecy many times on other occasions, but especially clearly now. For those who wove the slander against us, and purchased our slaughter for a great price, were clearly seen to be clothed in the shame of Valentinus and Bardesanes. Nevertheless they hoped to cover their own impiety, if they sharpened their tongues against us on the whetstone of falsehood. For since we, seeing the long-extinguished heresy being renewed by them, were continually crying out, testifying both in private and in public, both in reception halls and in the divine sanctuaries, and were refuting the plots attempted against the faith, they poured out reproaches against us, as preaching two sons. But they should have refuted us in our presence, and not slandered us in our absence. But these have done the opposite. For having bound us to Cyrrhus by imperial letters, they compelled the most just judges to judge in our absence, and they brought forth the most correct verdict against one who was thirty-five stages away. But this no one accused of sorcery, or of robbing graves, no murderer, no plotter against marriages has ever endured. But for the present I will leave the judges alone. For the Lord is near, who judges the world in righteousness and the peoples in uprightness, and who exacts an account not only of words and deeds, but also of wicked thoughts. But I think it right to refute the slander that has occurred. What proof do they have that we speak of two sons? For if we were of those who keep silent, perhaps suspicion would have had a place. But since we had for our work the struggles for the apostolic doctrines, and we offer the teaching's pasture to the Lord's flocks, and in addition to this we have written thirty-five books, both interpreting the divine Scripture and refuting the falsehood of the heresies, therefore the false accusation composed by them is easily refuted. For many myriads of hearers bear witness to us that we have advocated the truth of the evangelical doctrines. And our writings are set forth for examination for those who wish it. For not for a dyad of sons, but for the only-begotten Son of God, both against the Greeks, and against the Jews, and against those with the disease of Arius and Eunomius

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πιστὸς μένει, ἀρνήσασθαι ἑαυτὸν οὐ δύναται . Ταῦτα τοῖς ἀντιλέγουσιν ὑπανάγνωτε· καὶ εἰ μὲν πεισθεῖεν, ὑμνήσατε τὸν ἀγαθὸν Κύριον, ὅτι διὰ τῆς ὑμετέρας σπουδῆς κἀκείνοις τὴν ὠφέλειαν προὐξένησεν. Εἰ δὲ ἐπιμένοιεν ἀπει θοῦντες, μηδεμίαν πρὸς αὐτοὺς περὶ δογμάτων ποιεῖσθε διά λεξιν. Ἀπαγορεύει γὰρ ὁ θεῖος Ἀπόστολος, λογομαχεῖν εἰς οὐδὲν χρήσιμον ἐπὶ καταστροφῇ τῶν ἀκουόντων . Ὑμεῖς δὲ τὴν εὐαγγελικὴν διδασκαλίαν ἄσυλον διατηρήσατε, ἵν' ἐν τῇ τῆς ἐπιφανείας ἡμέρᾳ, μετὰ τῆς προσηκούσης ἐργα σίας τὴν παρακαταθήκην τῷ δικαίῳ προσενεγκότες Κριτῇ, τῆς τριποθήτου φωνῆς ἐπακούσητε· Εὖ, δοῦλε ἀγαθὲ καὶ πιστέ· ἐπὶ ὀλίγα ᾖς πιστός, ἐπὶ πολλῶν σε κατα στήσω· εἴσελθε εἰς τὴν χαρὰν τοῦ Κυρίου σου . 146 ΤΟΙΣ ΕΝ ΚΩΝΣΤΑΝΤΙΝΟΥΠΟΛΕΙ ΜΟΝΑΖΟΥΣΙΝ. Οἱ κατὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν τὰς γλώττας ὁπλί σαντες, οὐδὲν καινὸν οὐδὲ παράδοξον δρῶσιν, καὶ τοὺς εὔνους αὐτοῦ θεράποντας τῷ ψεύδει τοξεύοντες. Τῆς γὰρ ∆εσποτι κῆς παροινίας μετέχειν ἀνάγκη τοὺς δι' αὐτὴν λίαν ἀλγοῦντας οἰκέτας. Τοῦτο δὲ καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ Κύριος προτεθέσπικεν, τοὺς ἱεροὺς αὑτοῦ ψυχαγωγῶν μαθητάς. Ἔφη δὲ οὕτως· Εἰ ἐμὲ ἐδίωξαν, καὶ ὑμᾶς διώξουσιν· εἰ τὸν οἰκοδεσπότην Βεελζεβοὺλ ἐκάλεσαν, πόσῳ μᾶλλον τοὺς οἰκειακοὺς αὐτοῦ ; Εἶτα παρεθάρρυνεν αὐτούς, δείξας τὸ τῆς συκο φαντίας εὐφώρατον. Ἐπήγαγε γάρ· Μὴ οὖν φοβηθῆτε αὐτούς· οὐδὲν γάρ ἐστι κεκαλυμμένον, ὃ οὐκ ἀπο καλυφθήσεται, καὶ κρυπτόν, ὃ οὐ γνωσθήσεται . Τῆς δὲ θείας προρρήσεως τὴν ἀλήθειαν πολλάκις μὲν καὶ ἄλλοτε, μάλιστα δὲ νῦν σαφῶς ἑωράκαμεν. Οἱ γὰρ τὴν καθ' ἡμῶν συκοφαντίαν ὑφήναντες, καὶ παμπόλλων πριάμενοι χρημάτων τὰς ἡμετέρας σφαγάς, ὤφθησαν ἐναργῶς τὴν Βαλεντίνου καὶ Βαρδησάνου περικείμενοι λώβην. Ἤλπισαν δὲ ὅμως τὴν σφετέραν καλύψειν ἀσέβειαν, εἰ τῇ τοῦ ψεύδους θηγάνῃ τὰς γλώττας καθ' ἡμῶν παραθήξαιεν. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἡμεῖς τὴν πάλαι κατασβεσθεῖσαν αἵρεσιν ἀνανεουμένην ὑπὸ τούτων ὁρῶντες, διετελοῦμεν βοῶντες, διαμαρτυρόμενοι καὶ ἰδίᾳ καὶ δημοσίᾳ, κἀν τοῖς ἀσπαστηρίοις οἴκοις, κἀν τοῖς θείοις σηκοῖς, καὶ τὰς κατὰ τῆς πίστεως ἐγχειρουμένας ἐπιβουλὰς ἐξηλέγχομεν, λοιδορίας ἡμῶν κατέχεαν, ὡς δύο κηρυττόντων υἱούς. Ἔδει δὲ παρόντας ἐλέγχειν, καὶ μὴ διαβάλλειν ἀπόν τας. Οὗτοι δὲ τοὐναντίον δεδράκασι. Βασιλικοῖς γὰρ ἡμᾶς τῇ Κύρρῳ προσδήσαντες γράμμασιν, ἐρήμην δικάσαι τοὺς δικαιο τάτους ἠνάγκασαν δικαστάς, καὶ κατὰ τοῦ πέντε καὶ τριά κοντα σταθμοῖς ἀφεστηκότος τὴν ὀρθοτάτην ψῆφον ἐξήνεγκαν. Τοῦτο δὲ οὔτε γοητείαν τις, οὔτε νεκροσυλίαν κατηγορούμενος, οὐκ ἀνδροφόνος, οὐ γάμων ἐπίβουλος ὑπέμεινε πώποτε. Ἀλλὰ τοὺς μὲν δικαστὰς ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος ἐάσω. Ἐγγὺς γὰρ ὁ Κύριος, ὁ κρίνων τὴν οἰκουμένην ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ καὶ λαοὺς ἐν εὐθύτητι, καὶ πραττόμενος εὐθύνας οὐ μόνον ῥημάτων καὶ πραγμάτων, ἀλλὰ καὶ πονηρῶν ἐνθυμημάτων. Τὴν δὲ γεγενημένην δίκαιον οἶμαι διελέγξαι συκοφαντίαν. Ποίαν ἀπόδειξιν ἔχουσι τοῦ δύο λέγειν ἡμᾶς υἱούς; Εἰ μὲν γὰρ τῶν σιγώντων ἦμεν, ἔσχεν ἂν χώραν ἴσως ἡ ὑποψία. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἔργον εἴχομεν τοὺς ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀποστολικῶν δογμά των ἀγῶνας, καὶ τοῖς τοῦ Κυρίου ποιμνίοις τὴν διδασκαλικὴν προσφέρομεν πόαν, καὶ πρὸς τούτοις πέντε καὶ τριάκοντα συνεγράψαμεν βίβλους, τήν τε θείαν Γραφὴν ἑρμηνεύοντες, καὶ τὸ τῶν αἱρέσεων διελέγχοντες ψεῦδος· εὐέλεγκτος ἄρα ἡ παρὰ τούτων συντεθεῖσα ψευδολογία. Πολλαὶ μὲν γὰρ ἀκροα τῶν μυριάδες μαρτυροῦσιν ἡμῖν τὴν τῶν εὐαγγελικῶν δογμάτων πεπρεσβευκόσιν ἀλήθειαν. Πρόκειται δὲ καὶ τὰ συγγράμματα τοῖς βουλομένοις εἰς βάσανον. Οὐ γὰρ ὑπὲρ δυάδος υἱῶν, ἀλλ' ὑπὲρ τοῦ μονογενοῦς Υἱοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ πρὸς Ἕλληνας, καὶ πρὸς Ἰουδαίους, καὶ πρὸς τοὺς τὴν Ἀρείου καὶ Εὐνομίου νόσον