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saying that his essence is circumscribed in the beginningless alone, 1.1.682 but no longer extending it to the endless; but if they bring and set down both into the definition of the essence, they will declare nothing other than that it is composed of contraries in the manner stated, being essentially divided by the endless and the beginningless through the opposition of the end to the beginning. And so their god is found to be some varied and composite thing, put together from certain opposites. 1.1.683 But neither does there exist nor may there ever be such a dogma in the church of God, as to declare that the simple and incomposite is not only multiform and varied, but also composed of contraries. For the simplicity of the dogmas of the truth posits that God is what he is, able to be comprehended neither by name nor by thought nor by any other conceptual apprehension, remaining higher not only than human, but also than angelic and all super-cosmic comprehension, both ineffable and unutterable and superior to all signification through words, having one name that makes his own nature known, that he alone is above every name; which indeed has also been granted to the Only-Begotten, because all that the Father has 1.1.684 is also the Son's. But the word of piety confesses that these terms are indicative of His eternity, not of His essence, I mean both "unbegotten" and "endless," as "unbegotten" indicates that no beginning and cause is superior to Him, and "endless" signifies that His kingdom will come to no end. For You, it says, are the same, and your years will not fail, signifying through "are" that he does not subsist from any cause, and through what follows indicating the unceasing and endless blessedness of life. 1.1.685 But perhaps someone, even of the more devout, will object to what has been examined by us concerning the eternal, that it is difficult for the doctrine concerning the Only-Begotten to proceed without stumbling through what has been said. For with two repellent dogmas appearing, the argument will be driven to one. For either we will establish that the Son too is unbegotten, which is absurd, or we will not concede to him 1.1.686 even eternity, which is characteristic of the blasphemers. For if eternity is known by the beginningless and the endless, there is every necessity either to be impious by not confessing the Son's eternity, or to be carried away towards the notion of unbegottenness in one's conceptions about the Only-Begotten. What then shall we say? If the one who considers the Father before the Son only in the sense of cause were positing some temporal priority for the hypostasis of the Only-Begotten, our argument concerning 1.1.687 the Son's eternity would reasonably be in danger. But as it is, "that he was not at some time" is equally and alike unacceptable for the pre-eternal nature, both for the life of the Father and of the Only-Begotten [but also of the confession of the Holy Spirit]; for where 1.1.688 there is no time, "at some time" is also abolished. But if the Son is always comprehended in being, appearing together with the concept of the Father, what is the fear in testifying that the Only-Begotten is eternal, He who has neither a beginning of days nor an end of life? For as light from light and life from life and good from good, wise and just and powerful and all other things in like manner such from such, so also from eternal is necessarily eternal. 1.1.689 But the contradictor and lover of strife seizes the argument, as if this sequence also causes "from unbegotten, unbegotten" to be supposed. But let the one who fights be sober in his heart and attend to his own words, that by confessing "from the Father" he has rejected the notion of "unbegotten" for the Only-Begotten, and there is no fear in calling him both eternal 1.1.690 and not unbegotten. For that the Son's being is not limited by a temporal interval, but both before the ages and after them the infinity of his life is poured out from all sides, is properly named by the appellation "eternal"; and that again, being and being called Son, he conjointly allows the concept of the Father to be contemplated with himself, he has through this escaped seeming to be unbegottenly, being always with the always-being Father, as that divinely inspired voice of our teacher also said, that he is connected generatively to the unbegottenness 1.1.691 of the Father. But he

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ἐν μόνῳ τῷ ἀνάρχῳ περιγράφεσθαι λέγοντες αὐτοῦ τὴν οὐσίαν, 1.1.682 πρὸς δὲ τὸ ἀτελεύτητον οὐκέτι ἐκτείνοντες· εἰ δὲ ἀμφότερα εἰς τὸν τῆς οὐσίας λόγον φέροντες καταθήσουσιν, οὐδὲν ἕτερον ἢ ἐξ ἐναντίων αὐτὴν συγκεῖσθαι ἀποφανοῦνται κατὰ τὸν ῥηθέντα τρόπον, τῇ κατὰ τὸ τέλος πρὸς τὴν ἀρχὴν ἐναντιώσει τῷ ἀτελευτήτῳ καὶ ἀνάρχῳ κατ' οὐσίαν διασχι ζομένην. καὶ οὕτως εὑρίσκεται αὐτῶν ὁ θεὸς ποικίλον τι χρῆμα καὶ σύνθετον, ἐξ ἀντικειμένων τινῶν συγκεκροτη μένος. 1.1.683 Ἀλλ' οὔτε ἔστιν οὔτε μὴ γένηται δόγμα τοιοῦτον ἐν ἐκκλησίᾳ θεοῦ, ὥστε τὸν ἁπλοῦν καὶ ἀσύνθετον μὴ μόνον πολυειδῆ καὶ ποικίλον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐξ ἐναντίων συγκείμενον ἀποφαίνεσθαι. ἡ γὰρ ἁπλότης τῶν τῆς ἀληθείας δογμά των τὸν θεὸν ὅπερ ἐστὶν ὑποτίθεται, οὔτε ὀνόματι οὔτε δια νοήματι οὔτε τινὶ ἄλλῃ καταληπτικῇ ἐπινοίᾳ περιληφθῆναι δυνάμενον, οὐ μόνον ἀνθρωπίνης, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀγγελικῆς καὶ πάσης ὑπερκοσμίου καταλήψεως ὑψηλότερον μένοντα, ἄφρα στόν τε καὶ ἀνεκφώνητον καὶ πάσης τῆς διὰ λόγων σημα σίας ἀνώτερον, ἓν ὄνομα γνωριστικὸν τῆς ἰδίας ἔχοντα φύ σεως, τὸ μόνον αὐτὸν ὑπὲρ πᾶν εἶναι ὄνομα· ὃ δὴ καὶ τῷ μονογενεῖ κεχάρισται, διὰ τὸ πάντα ὅσα ἔχει ὁ πατὴρ καὶ 1.1.684 τοῦ υἱοῦ εἶναι. τῆς δὲ ἀϊδιότητος αὐτοῦ, οὐχὶ τῆς οὐσίας ἐνδεικτικὰς εἶναι τὰς φωνὰς ταύτας ὁμολογεῖ τῆς εὐσεβείας ὁ λόγος, τήν τε ἀγέννητόν φημι καὶ τὴν ἀτελεύτητον, ὡς τοῦ μὲν ἀγεννήτου τὸ μηδεμίαν αὐτοῦ ὑπερκεῖσθαι ἀρχὴν καὶ αἰτίαν ἐνδεικνυμένου, τοῦ δὲ ἀτελευτήτου τὸ εἰς μηδὲν πέρας στήσεσθαι αὐτοῦ τὴν βασιλείαν σημαίνοντος. Σὺ γάρ, φησίν, ὁ αὐτὸς εἶ, καὶ τὰ ἔτη σου οὐκ ἐκλείψουσι, διὰ μὲν τοῦ εἶναι τὸ μὴ ἐξ αἰτίας τινὸς ὑποστῆναι σημαί νων, διὰ δὲ τοῦ ἐφεξῆς τὴν ἄπαυστόν τε καὶ ἀτελεύτητον μακαριότητα τῆς ζωῆς ἐνδεικνύμενος. 1.1.685 Ἀλλ' ἴσως ἐρεῖ τις καὶ τῶν εὐλαβεστέρων ἐπιστὰς τοῖς περὶ τοῦ ἀϊδίου ἡμῖν ἐξητασμένοις, ὅτι χαλεπόν ἐστι τὸν περὶ τοῦ μονογενοῦς λόγον διὰ τῶν εἰρημένων παρελ θεῖν ἀπροσκόπως. δύο γὰρ ἀπεμφαινόντων δογμάτων, ἑνὶ ὁ λόγος συνενεχθήσεται. ἢ γὰρ ἀγέννητον εἶναι καὶ τὸν υἱὸν κατασκευάσομεν, ὅπερ ἄτοπον, ἢ οὐδὲ τὸ ἀΐδιον αὐτῷ 1.1.686 συγχωρήσομεν, ὅπερ ἴδιον τῶν βλασφημούντων ἐστίν. εἰ γὰρ τῷ ἀνάρχῳ καὶ ἀτελευτήτῳ ἡ ἀϊδιότης γνωρίζεται, ἀνάγκη πᾶσα ἢ ἀσεβεῖν μὴ ὁμολογοῦντας τοῦ υἱοῦ τὸ ἀΐδιον, ἢ πρὸς τὴν τῆς ἀγεννησίας ὑπόληψιν ἐν ταῖς περὶ τοῦ μονογενοῦς ὑπονοίαις ἐκφέρεσθαι. τί οὖν ἡμεῖς; εἰ μέν τινα χρονικὴν ἔμφασιν ὑπερετίθει τῆς τοῦ μονογενοῦς ὑποστάσεως ὁ τὸν πατέρα τοῦ υἱοῦ μόνῳ τῷ τῆς αἰτίας λόγῳ προθεωρῶν, εἰκότως ἂν ὁ τῆς ἀϊδιότητος ἡμῖν περὶ 1.1.687 τοῦ υἱοῦ λόγος ἐκινδυνεύετο. νυνὶ δὲ τὸ ποτὲ μὴ ἔσεσθαι ἐπὶ τῆς προαιωνίου φύσεως ἴσως καὶ ὁμοίως ἐπί τε τῆς τοῦ πατρὸς ζωῆς καὶ τῆς τοῦ μονογενοῦς [ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος ὁμολογίας] οὐ δέχεται· ἔνθα γὰρ 1.1.688 χρόνος οὐκ ἔστι, καὶ τὸ ποτὲ συνανῄρηται. εἰ δὲ ἀεὶ ἐν τῷ εἶναι καταλαμβάνεται ὁ υἱὸς τῇ περὶ τοῦ πατρὸς ἐννοίᾳ συναναφαινόμενος, τίς ὁ φόβος προσμαρτυρεῖν τῷ μονογενεῖ τὸ ἀΐδιον, τῷ μήτε ἀρχὴν ἡμερῶν μήτε ζωῆς ἔχοντι τέλος; ὡς γὰρ ἐκ φωτὸς φῶς καὶ ζωὴ ἐκ ζωῆς καὶ ἐξ ἀγαθοῦ ἀγαθὸς σοφός τε καὶ δίκαιος καὶ δυνατὸς καὶ τὰ ἄλλα πάντα ὡσαύτως ἐκ τοιούτου τοιοῦτος, οὕτω καὶ ἐξ ἀϊδίου πάντως ἀΐδιος. 1.1.689 Ἀλλ' ὑφαρπάζει τὸν λόγον ὁ ἀντιλογικός τε καὶ φίλ ερις, ὡς τῆς ἀκολουθίας ταύτης καὶ ἐξ ἀγεννήτου ἀγέν νητον ὑπονοεῖσθαι ποιούσης. ἀλλὰ νηψάτω τῇ καρδίᾳ καὶ ταῖς ἰδίαις ἐπιστήτω φωναῖς ὁ μαχόμενος, ὅτι τὸ ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς ὁμολογῶν τὴν τοῦ ἀγεννήτου ὑπόνοιαν ἐπὶ τοῦ μονο γενοῦς ἀπεπέμψατο, καὶ οὐδεὶς ἔπεστι φόβος καὶ ἀΐδιον 1.1.690 αὐτὸν καὶ οὐκ ἀγέννητον λέγειν. ὅτι μὲν γὰρ οὐ διαστή ματι χρονικῷ τοῦ υἱοῦ τὸ εἶναι περιορίζεται, ἀλλὰ καὶ πρὸ τῶν αἰώνων καὶ μετὰ τούτους τὸ ἄπειρον αὐτοῦ τῆς ζωῆς ἁπανταχόθεν ἐκκέχυται, κυρίως τῇ τοῦ ἀϊδίου προσηγορίᾳ κατονομάζεται· ὅτι δὲ πάλιν υἱὸς καὶ ὢν καὶ λεγόμενος συνημμένως τὴν τοῦ πατρὸς ἔννοιαν ἑαυτῷ συνθεωρεῖσθαι δίδωσι, τὸ ἀγεννήτως εἶναι δοκεῖν διὰ τούτου ἐκπέφευγεν, ἀεὶ συνὼν τῷ ἀεὶ ὄντι πατρί, καθὼς εἶπε καὶ ἡ θεόπνευστος ἐκείνη τοῦ διδασκάλου ἡμῶν φωνή, ὅτι γεννητῶς τῇ ἀγεν 1.1.691 νησίᾳ τοῦ πατρὸς συναπτόμενος. ὁ δὲ