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20the name 'unbegotten' follows20, he says, God, 20since he himself is un- 1.1.664 begotten20. Does he say that this name follows God as something other than 'unbegotten'? And how does he define the Godhead in unbegottenness? But again he says that 'unbegotten' follows God who is unbegotten. And who will solve this riddle for us of these enigmas, 'unbegotten' preceding and 'unbegotten' following, and a designation of essence now fittingly applied, and again as something foreign accompanying 1.1.665 it? And what is this great panic of his about the name 'unbegottenness,' so as to attribute to it the whole nature of the Godhead, and that if he is so named, there is no lack of piety, but if not, the whole doctrine of the faith is endangered? And if someone does not think it superfluous and redundant to discuss these matters briefly, we will take up the argument thus. 1.1.666 The eternal of the divine life, as one might outline it, having encompassed it with some definition, is of this sort. It is always apprehended in being, and does not admit the notion of ever not being or ever not going to be. 1.1.667 But just as in the case of a circular figure, those who study plane geometry say that the beginning of the figure is indeterminate, with the line, which has been coiled back on itself, being equally distant from the center, since the line is not broken into an acknowledged end or a clear beginning, but, being united to itself from all sides at equal distances from the center, it escapes admitting any beginning and end; so too let no one slander our argument as if we were comparing the 1.1.668 indeterminate nature to a circumscribed figure. For it is not by looking at the circumference of the circle, but by considering the similarity of the life that is incomprehensible from every side, that we say the concept of the eternal is of this sort. For from the present now, as from some center and point, extending and revolving our thought from all sides to the infinity of life, we are drawn around in a circle, equally and similarly, by incomprehensibility, apprehending the divine life itself as continuous and without interval with itself from every direction, and being unable to discern any 1.1.669 limit in any part. This we say about the eternity of God, which we have heard from prophecy, that God is also king before the ages and reigns for ever and ever and still more, and for this reason we define him to be superior to every beginning and beyond every end. Therefore, holding this concept concerning him as fitting for the God of all, we declare what is conceived with two designations, representing the infinite and 1.1.670 perpetual and eternal life of God by 'unbegotten' and 'unending'. For if only one of these were adopted for this concept, and the other were passed over in silence, the meaning would certainly be lame in what is lacking. For it is not possible <through> one of them to represent soundly the significance in each. For he who said 'unending' showed only the alienation from an end, but said nothing about the beginning; and he who named 'without beginning' showed that the meaning is to be above beginning, but left the statement about the end ambiguous. 1.1.671 Since these names, therefore, as I said, equally represent the eternity of the divine life, it would be time to examine how these men, having cut apart the meaning of the eternal, say that the notion which negates a beginning is essence, [not to be considered in relation to the eternal] while they reckon that which does not admit an end among things outside of the essence, I do not know with what thought assigning such a thing, so that 'not having a beginning' is placed in essence, but 'not having an end' is rejected as outside of 1.1.672 essence. For since the two are considered in relation to the same thing, it was necessary either to accept both into the definition of the essence or, if they judged one to be rejectable, to reject the other along with it. But if it is by all means pleasing, having divided the concept of the eternal, to assign one part to the essence of the divine nature, and to reckon the other among non-beings, (since they wish to judge such things with humble reasonings, toward the height of things concerning God

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20ἀκολουθεῖ20, φησί, τῷ θεῷ 20τὸ ἀγέννητον ὄνομα, ἐπείπερ αὐτό ἐστιν ἀγέν 1.1.664 νητος20. ἄλλο τι ὄντι τῷ θεῷ παρὰ τὸ ἀγέννητον ἀκολου θεῖν τοῦτο λέγει τὸ ὄνομα; καὶ πῶς τὴν θεότητα ἐν τῇ ἀγεννησίᾳ ὁρίζεται; ἀλλ' ἀγεννήτῳ ὄντι τῷ θεῷ ἕπεσθαι πάλιν φησὶ τὸ ἀγέννητον. καὶ τίς ἡμῖν τῶν αἰνιγμάτων τούτων διαλύσει τὸν γρῖφον, ἀγέννητον προηγούμενον καὶ ἀγέννητον ἐφεπόμενον καὶ προσηγορίαν οὐσίας νῦν μὲν προσφυῶς ἐφηρμοσμένην, πάλιν δὲ ὡς ἀλλοτρίαν παρεπο 1.1.665 μένην; τίς δὲ αὐτῷ καὶ ἡ τοσαύτη περὶ τὸ τῆς ἀγεννησίας ὄνομα πτόησις, ὥστε ἐκείνῳ πᾶσαν ἀνατιθέναι τὴν τῆς θεότητος φύσιν, καὶ εἰ μὲν οὕτως ὀνομασθείη, μηδὲν τῆς εὐσεβείας ἐνδεῖν, εἰ δὲ μή, τὸν πάντα τῆς πίστεως κινδυ νεύεσθαι λόγον; καὶ εἰ μὴ περιττόν τις καὶ παρέλκον οἰήσε τὸ περὶ τούτων βραχέα διαλαβεῖν, οὑτωσὶ τὸν λόγον διαληψόμεθα. 1.1.666 Τὸ ἀΐδιον τῆς θείας ζωῆς, ὡς ἄν τις ὅρῳ τινὶ περι λαβὼν ὑπογράψειε, τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν. ἀεὶ μὲν ἐν τῷ εἶναι καταλαμβάνεται, τοῦ δὲ ποτὲ μὴ εἶναι καὶ ποτὲ μὴ ἔσεσθαι 1.1.667 τὸν λόγον οὐκ ἐπιδέχεται. ἀλλ' ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τοῦ κυκλοτεροῦς σχήματος οἱ τὰ ἐπίπεδα γεωμετροῦντες ἐξίσης ἀπὸ τοῦ κέντρου πρὸς τὸ διάστημα τῆς γραμμῆς πρὸς ἑαυτὴν ἑλι χθείσης ἀόριστον εἶναι τὴν ἀρχὴν τοῦ σχήματος λέγουσι, μήτε εἰς τέλος ὁμολογούμενον μήτε εἰς ἀρχὴν φανερὰν τῆς γραμμῆς διασπωμένης, ἀλλ' ἐκ τῶν ἴσων διαστημάτων πανταχόθεν ἐκ τοῦ κέντρου πρὸς ἑαυτὴν ἡνωμένης ἐκφυγεῖν τὸ ἀρχήν τινα καὶ τελευτὴν ἐπιδέξασθαι, οὕτω καὶ μηδεὶς συκοφαντείτω τὸν λόγον ὡς περιγεγραμμένῳ σχήματι τὴν 1.1.668 ἀόριστον φύσιν προσεικαζόντων. οὐ γὰρ πρὸς τὴν περιγρα φὴν τοῦ κύκλου βλέποντες, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὸ ὅμοιον τοῦ παν ταχόθεν ἀλήπτου τῆς ζωῆς ἀφορῶντές φαμεν τοῦ ἀϊδίου τὴν ἔννοιαν τοιαύτην εἶναι. ἀπὸ γὰρ τοῦ νῦν ἐνεστῶτος ὥσπερ ἀπὸ κέντρου καὶ σημείου τινὸς πανταχόθεν τὴν διά νοιαν πρὸς τὸ ἄπειρον τῆς ζωῆς ἐπεκτείνοντές τε καὶ πε ριάγοντες ἴσως καὶ ὁμοίως ὑπὸ τῆς ἀκαταληψίας ἐν κύκλῳ περιελκόμεθα, συνεχῆ καὶ ἀδιάστατον αὐτὴν πρὸς ἑαυτὴν τὴν θείαν ζωὴν ἁπανταχόθεν καταλαμβάνοντες καὶ οὐδὲν 1.1.669 πέρας κατ' οὐδὲν μέρος ἐπιγνῶναι δυνάμενοι. τοῦτο λέγομεν περὶ τῆς ἀϊδιότητος τοῦ θεοῦ, ὃ παρὰ τῆς προφητείας ἠκούσαμεν, ὅτι θεὸς καὶ βασιλεὺς προαιώνιος καὶ βασιλεύει τὸν αἰῶνα καὶ ἐπ' αἰῶνα καὶ ἔτι, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἀνώτερον μὲν πάσης ἀρχῆς, περισσότερον δὲ παντὸς τέλους εἶναι διο ριζόμεθα. ταύτην οὖν τὴν ἔννοιαν ὡς πρέπουσαν τῷ θεῷ τῶν ὅλων περὶ αὐτὸν ἔχοντες δύο προσηγορίαις τὸ νοηθὲν ἐξαγ γέλλομεν, τῷ ἀγεννήτῳ καὶ τῷ ἀτελευτήτῳ τὸ ἄπειρον καὶ 1.1.670 διηνεκὲς καὶ ἀΐδιον τῆς ζωῆς τοῦ θεοῦ παριστῶντες. εἰ γὰρ τὸ ἕτερον τούτων μόνον εἰς τὴν διάνοιαν ταύτην παρα ληφθείη, σιωπηθείη δὲ τὸ λειπόμενον, χωλεύσει πάντως τὸ σημαινόμενον ἐν τῷ λείποντι. οὐ γὰρ ἔστι δυνατὸν <δι'> ἑνός τινος τούτων τὴν ἐν ἑκατέρῳ σημασίαν ὑγιῶς παραστῆσαι. ὁ γὰρ ἀτελεύτητον εἰπὼν τὴν πρὸς τὸ τέλος μόνον ἀλλο τρίωσιν ἔδειξεν, οὐ μήν τι καὶ περὶ τῆς ἀρχῆς διελέχθη· καὶ ὁ τὸν ἄναρχον ὀνομάσας τὸ μὲν ὑπὲρ ἀρχὴν εἶναι τὸ σημαινόμενον ἔδειξε, τὸν δὲ περὶ τοῦ τέλους λόγον ἀφῆκεν ἀμφίβολον. 1.1.671 Τούτων οὖν, ὡς ἔφην, τῶν ὀνομάτων ἐπίσης τὸ ἀΐδιον τῆς θείας ζωῆς παριστώντων, καιρὸς ἂν εἴη κατεξετάσαι, πῶς οὗτοι διατεμόντες τοῦ ἀϊδίου τὸ σημαινόμενον τὸ μὲν τῆς ἀρχῆς ἀναιρετικὸν νόημα οὐσίαν εἶναί φασιν, [οὐ περὶ τὸ ἀΐδιον θεωρεῖσθαι] τὸ δὲ τοῦ τέλους ἀνεπίδεκτον ἐν τοῖς ἔξω τῆς οὐσίας λογίζονται, οὐκ οἶδα τίνι διανοίᾳ τὸ τοιοῦ τον ἀποκληροῦντες, ὥστε τὸ μὲν ἀρχὴν μὴ ἔχειν ἐν οὐσίᾳ τίθεσθαι, τὸ δὲ τέλος μὴ ἔχειν ὡς ἐκτὸς τῆς οὐσίας ἀπο 1.1.672 ποιεῖσθαι. ἐχρῆν γάρ, ἐπειδὴ τὰ δύο περὶ τὸ αὐτὸ θεω ρεῖται, ἢ ἀμφότερα εἰς τὸν τῆς οὐσίας παραδέχεσθαι λόγον ἤ, εἰ τὸ ἓν ἀπόβλητον ἔκριναν, συναποβάλλειν τούτῳ καὶ τὸ λειπόμενον. εἰ δὲ πάντως ἀρέσκει διελόντας τοῦ ἀϊδίου τὴν ἔννοιαν τὸ μέν τι εἰς οὐσίαν τῆς θείας φύσεως κατα τάττειν, τὸ δὲ ἐν τοῖς μὴ οὖσι λογίζεσθαι, (ἐπειδὴ ταπεινοῖς λογισμοῖς τὰ τοιαῦτα κρίνειν ἐθέλουσι, πρὸς τὸ ὕψος τῶν περὶ θεοῦ