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properly signifies powerful. And powerful is that which has an essential and natural power. Therefore, to confess that the natures in Christ are not without hypostasis or without energy is not to infer hypostases or agents, but orthodoxly to confess their essential and natural existences and energies, for a true and firm confirmation of the God the Word Incarnate, who is of them and in them and according to them—I mean, the natures—operating according to an indivisible union.

By what logic, then, when they themselves refer many energies, even more than can be numbered, to one and the same, by saying, "Every divine and human (208) energy"—for "every" suggests that we understand not one, nor two at all, nor three, but infinite and innumerable energies, just as "all things" and "all" do—they in no way suspect a division; but how and why, I do not know, do they infer this division against those who confess two natural energies, according to the divine Fathers, so as to know the difference, along with the agents? For if the many and different energies according to nature do not divide and cut the one and the same into many agents, how can the two? And who is more to be blamed for the unreasonable accusation? For if they did not speak of and refer these to the same and of the same, and as naturally joined to one another by their complete perichoresis, and preserved in him according to the indivisible union, and moved by him as one, though in one way and another, through which he both divinely manifested the power of miracles, as God by nature, and willingly accepted the experience of the passions for our sake, as man by nature, then their accusation would perhaps not have been implausible. But now, since they do not say this, but attribute these to the same and refer them to the same, whence and how do they infer the agents? And why, if it is reasonable, do they not first infer many agents for themselves, on account of the many energies? For just as two infer two, so surely of necessity do the many infer the many. But if this is so, I cannot see how that is so, and I think neither can anyone else who prefers the truth to appearance.

And how again, as if by contradiction, does the one energy prevail with them against the many in his case? And what is this one, and how do they define it? For it is not possible for the same one to have both many and one. For if many, not one; and if one, how again many? For either that one will surely displace these many, or these many will displace this one, according to their argument, by which they propose the one to overthrow the two natural ones. But if, perhaps, they say that the one is composed of many, it is not natural, as has been said, for things to be composed in a subject. But neither, again, can the one be divided from many into many. Therefore, let them first abolish the many energies by means of the one, so that they do not introduce many agents against themselves. And again, the one by means of the many, so that they do not teach a confusion of essence, and thus let them fight against those who maintain the two, if they are not inactive. For it is utterly impossible for those who overthrow themselves along with their own doctrines to attack others, having no need at all of anyone else in this. For that which has a foundation, that which is, is firmly (209) established by itself, suffering no collapse from any quarter. For only that is truly vigorous and strong which has truth to strengthen it; but not that which admits of dissolution by another, let alone by itself.

Therefore, leaving these things aside, it is surely fitting for us, being pious, and confessing the real existence of each of the natures preserved in the one incarnate God the Word, also to confess by all means the innate energy, just as also the will; and through the pious confession concerning each, the divine and the human together, of the same and

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ἐνδύναμον σημαίνει κυρίως. Ἐνδύναμον δέ ἐστι, τό οὐσιώδη καί φυσικήν ἔχον τήν δύναμιν. Οὐκοῦν τό μή ἀνυποστάτους ἤ ἀνενεργήτους ἐπί Χριστοῦ τάς φύσεις ὁμολογεῖν, οὐκ ἔστιν ὑποστάσεις ἤ ἐνεργοῦντας συνάγειν, ἀλλά τάς οὐσιώδεις αὐτῶν καί φυσικάς ὑπάρξεις τε καί ἐνεργείας ὀρθοδόξως ὁμολογεῖν, εἰς τήν τοῦ ἐξ αὐτῶν, καί ἐν αὐταῖς ὄντος καί κατ' αὐτάς· φημί δέ τάς φύσεις, καθ᾿ ἕνωσιν τήν ἀδιάσπαστον ἐνεργοῦντος Θεοῦ Λόγου σεσαρκωμένου, πίστωσιν ἀληθῆ καί βεβαίωσιν.

Τίνι δέ λόγῳ, πολλάς μέν αὐτοί, καί ἀριθμοῦ πλείους εἰς ἕνα καί τόν αὐτόν ἀναφέροντες τάς ἐνεργείας, τῷ λέγειν, Πᾶσαν θείαν καί ἀνθρωπίνην (208) ἐνέργειαν· τό γάρ, πᾶσαν, οὐ μίαν οὐδέ δύο καθάπαξ, οὐδέ τρεῖς , ἀλλά ἀπείρους καί ἀριθμόν ὑπεραιρούσας ὑποβάλλει νοεῖν, ὥσπερ οὖν καί τό πάντα καί πᾶν· διαίρεσιν οὐδαμῶς ὑποπτεύουσιν· ταύτην δέ κατά τῶν τάς φυσικάς δύο, κατά τούς θείους Πατέρας ὁμολογούντων, μέχρι τοῦ γινώσκειν τήν διαφοράν, οὐκ οἶδ᾿ ὅπως καί διατί, μετά τῶν ἐνεργούντων συνάγουσιν; Εἰ γάρ αἱ πολλαί καί διάφοροι κατά φύσιν, τόν ἕνα καί τόν αὐτόν εἰς πολλά ἐνεργοῦντας οὐ διαιροῦσι καί τέμνουσι, πῶς αἱ δύο; Καί τίς ὁ μᾶλλον τήν καταδρομήν ὡς οὐκ εὔλογον αἰτιώμενος; Εἰ γάρ ἐπί τόν αὐτόν καί τοῦ αὐτοῦ ταύτας οὐκ ἔλεγον καί ἀνέφερον, καί τῇ πρός ἀλλήλας δι᾿ ὅλου περιχωρήσει συμφυείσας ἀλλήλαις, καί καθ᾿ ἕνωσιν τήν ἀδιάσπαστον ἐν αὐτῷ σωζομένας, καί πρός αὐτοῦ, κατ' ἄλλο μέντοι καί ἄλλο κινουμένας ἐνοειδῶς, δι᾿ ὧν τήν τε τῶν θαυμάτων θεϊκῶς προὐβάλλετο δύναμιν, ὡς φύσιν Θεός, καί τήν πεῖραν τῶν παθημάτων θέλων, ὡς ἄνθρωπος φύσει δι᾿ ἡμᾶς κατεδέχετο, ἦν ἄρα καί οὐκ ἀπίθανος αὐτῶν ἡ καταδρομή. Νῦν δέ τοῦτο μή λεγόντων, ἀλλά τοῦ αὐτοῦ ταύτας καί εἰς τόν αὐτόν ἀναγόντων, πόθεν καί πῶς τούς ἐνεργούντας συνάγουσι; Καί διατί, εἴπερ εὔλογον, μή πρότερον ἑαυτοῖς τούς πολλούς, ὅσον ἐπί ταῖς πολλαῖς ἐνεργείαις; Ὡς γάρ αἱ δύο τούς δύο, οὕτω δήπου πρός ἀνάγκης καί αἱ πολλαί τούς πολλούς. Εἰ δέ τοῦτο, πῶς ἐκεῖνο συνιδεῖν οὐκ ἔχω, οἶμαι δέ οὐδέ ἄλλος τις τῶν τό ἀληθές τοῦ δοκεῖν προτιμώντων.

Πῶς δέ πάλιν αὐτοῖς ὥσπερ ἀντιφατικῶς, ἐπ᾿ αὐτοῦ κατά τῶν πολλῶν ἡ μία προΐσχεται; Καί τίνα ταύτην καί πῶς δογματίζουσιν; Οὐ γάρ οἷόν τε τόν αὐτόν καί πολλάς ἔχειν, καί μίαν. Εἰ γάρ πολλάς, οὐ μίαν· καί εἰ μίαν, πῶς αὖθις πολλάς; Ἤ γάρ ταύτας ἐκείνη πάντως, ἤ ταύτην ἐκεῖναι διώσονται , κατά τόν ἐκείνων λόγον, καθ᾿ ὅν τήν μίαν ἐπ᾿ ἀνατροπῆ τῶν φυσικῶν δύο προβάλλονται. Εἰ δέ τυχόν, ὡς ἐκ πολλῶν ἀποτελουμένην τήν μίαν φασίν, οὐκ ἔχει φύσιν, ὡς λέλεκται, τά ἐν ὑποκειμένῳ συντίθεσθαι. Ἀλλ᾿ οὔτε πάλιν τήν μίαν ἐκ πολλῶν, εἰς πολλάς ἐπιτέμνεσθαι. Πρότερον οὖν τάς πλείους αὐτοί διά τῆς μιᾶς ἐνεργείας ἀνέλωσιν, ἵνα μή πολλούς τούς ἐνεργοῦντας καθ᾿ ἑαυτῶν εἰσάγωσιν. Καί διά τῶν πολλῶν αὖθις τήν μίαν, ἵνα μή συνουσίωσιν δογματίσωσι, καί οὕτω κατά τῶν τάς δύο περσβευόντων, ἄνπερ οὐκ ἀδρανῶς ἔχοιεν, πολεμήσωσιν. Οὐ γάρ οἷόν τε παντελῶς ἄλλοις ἐπιφυῆναι, τούς σφᾶς αὐτούς μετά τῶν οἰκείων ἀνατρέποντας, οὐδενός ἄλλου καθάπαξ ἐν τούτῳ προσδεηθέντας. Τό γάρ ἔχον βάσιν, τό ὄν, πρός αὐτοῦ παγίως (209) ἑδράζεται, μηδαμόθεν τήν οἱανοῦν πάσχον διάπτωσιν. Καί γάρ ἐκεῖνο μόνον ἀκμαῖον ὄντως καί ἰσχυρόν, τό τήν ἀλήθειαν ἔχον κρατύνουσαν· ἀλλ᾿ οὐ τό παρ᾿ ἄλλου, μή τι γε παρ᾿ ἑαυτοῦ, τήν λύσιν δεχόμενον.

Τούτων γοῦν ἀφεμένους, προσήκει πάντως εὐσεβοῦντας ἡμᾶς, καί ἑκατέρας τῶν ἐν τῷ ἑνί σεσαρκωμένῳ Θεῷ Λόγῳ σωζομένης φύσεως πραγματικῶς ὁμολογοῦντας τήν ὕπαρξιν, καί τήν ἔμφυτον ὁμολογεῖν πάντως ἐνέργειαν, ὥσπερ οὖν καί τό θέλημα· καί διά τῆς περί ἑκάτερον, τό θεῖον ὁμοῦ καί τό ἀνθρώπινον, εὐσεβοῦς τοῦ αὐτοῦ καί