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Something is an inseparable accident of the substance, but the Son, according to judgment and choice, subsisted as an image of the Father. For God, having willed, became the Father of the Son, and brought into subsistence a second light in all respects assimilated to Himself. 4.3.8 Therefore, since there is one unbegotten and eternal light, how could there be a different kind of image, and not a radiance, being a light that in every way preserves the likeness to the original? How could it be an image of the One Himself, unless it were one and the same, so that it might bear the likeness not only of the substance of the first but also of the number in respect to quantity, so that of the one eternal light there is one perfect, but not different and many, the first and only-begotten offspring, that very one which is theologized by us as the first perfect good after the unoriginate and unbegotten substance. 4.3.9 At any rate, the Son of the one Father must also be one. For as from some underlying substance one fragrance proceeds, one must agree that one and the same pleasant scent is poured out to all, and not different and many scents. Indeed, of the first and only good, who is the all-sovereign God, who brought into subsistence a divine and life-giving fragrance perceptible to mind and intellect, it is right to conceive of this as one and not many. 4.3.10 For what else could there be from this, which is assimilated to the Father in all things, unless perhaps something inferior and worse? which must in no way be introduced by us into the theology of the Son. "For she is a breath of the power of God, and a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty." 4.3.11 Now from a fragrant body, say of some myrrh or of the blooming flowers and spices from the earth, a certain fragrant breath from the primary subject is poured forth into all the surrounding exterior and indeed fills even the air, being diffused abroad, yet not by privation or diminution or cutting or division of the pre-existing subject. 4.3.12 For while this remains in its own place and preserves its identity with itself and begets its fragrant power, the fragrant thing which is begotten is in no way worse than the former, having its own subsistence, inasmuch as it has most closely imitated the nature of that which begot it through its own nature. But nevertheless these things are still earthly and mortal and parts of the corruptible and earthly nature below. 4.3.13 But the things of the theology set before us, being beyond every example, bring in nothing like things from bodies, but with the keenest intellect it imagines a begotten Son, not one who did not exist for certain times, and then at some point came to be, but one who exists and pre-exists before eternal ages, and is always with the Father as Son, and is not unbegotten, but is begotten from an unbegotten Father, being only-begotten, both Word and God from God, not put forth from the Father's substance by separation or cutting or division, but in a manner ineffable and inconceivable to us, from eternity, or rather before all eternities, teaching that He is brought into being from the Father's inexpressible and incomprehensible will and power. "For his generation," he says, "who will declare?" And just as no one has known the Father except the Son, so also no one has known the Son except only the Father who begot him. 4.4.1 But nevertheless it seemed good to the all-good Father that one only-begotten and beloved Son should pre-exist the creation of all created things, since He was about to bring forth one world, like some one great body, out of many and different members and parts, ..., not indeed that she should supervise from above, attached to the divinity of the Father as to a greater head—for the head of Christ is the Father—, but that she should lead and pre-exist all things after her, and moreover also suffice both for the command of the Father and for the creation of the things that came after. 4.4.2 Wherefore indeed we also said that he was put forth by the Father before all things as a kind of single form of all substance and nature, an ensouled and living instrument, or rather, a divine and life-giving and all-wise one, generative of good things, a provider of light, creative of heaven, constructive of the world, a maker of angels, a ruler of spirits, an instrument of souls

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τι δὲ τῆς οὐσίας συμβεβηκὸς ἀχώριστον, ὁ δὲ υἱὸς κατὰ γνώμην καὶ προαίρεσιν εἰκὼν ὑπέστη τοῦ πατρός. βουληθεὶς γὰρ ὁ θεὸς γέγονεν υἱοῦ πατήρ, καὶ φῶς δεύτερον κατὰ πάντα ἑαυτῷ ἀφωμοιωμένον ὑπεστήσατο. 4.3.8 ἀγενήτου τοιγαροῦν καὶ ἀϊδίου φωτὸς ὄντος ἑνός, πῶς ἂν γένοιτο ἀλλοία τις εἰκών, οὐχὶ δὲ καὶ αὐγή, οὖσα φῶς κατὰ πάντα τὸ ἐμφερὲς τῷ πρωτοτύπῳ σῴζουσα; πῶς δ' ἂν καὶ αὐτοῦ τοῦ ἑνὸς εἴη εἰκών, εἰ μὴ μία καὶ ἡ αὐτὴ οὖσα, ὅπως μὴ μόνον τῆς οὐσίας τοῦ πρώτου ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦ κατὰ τὸ ποσὸν ἀριθμοῦ τὴν ὁμοίωσιν ἐπάγοιτο, ὥσθ' ἑνὸς εἶναι τοῦ ἀϊδίου φωτὸς ἓν τὸ τέλειον, ἀλλ' οὐ διάφορα καὶ πολλά, τὸ πρῶτον καὶ μονογενὲς ἔκγονον, αὐτὸ δὴ ἐκεῖνο τὸ καὶ ἡμῖν πρῶτον μετὰ τὴν ἄναρχον καὶ ἀγένητον οὐσίαν θεολογούμενον τέλειον ἀγαθόν. 4.3.9 ἕνα γοῦν χρὴ ἑνὸς πατρὸς καὶ τὸν υἱὸν εἶναι. Καὶ γὰρ μιᾶς εὐωδίας ἐξ ὑποκειμένης τινὸς προϊούσης οὐσίας, μίαν καὶ τὴν αὐτὴν προχεομένην ἡδεῖαν εἰς πάντας ὀδμὴν ἀλλ' οὐ διαφόρους καὶ πολλὰς προσήκοι ἂν ὁμολογεῖν. τοῦ δῆτα πρώτου καὶ μόνου ἀγαθοῦ, ὅ ἐστιν ὁ παμβασιλεὺς θεός, νῷ καὶ διανοίᾳ ληπτὴν ἔνθεον καὶ ζωτικὴν εὐωδίαν ὑποστησαμένου, μίαν ταύτην ἀλλ' οὐ πλείους ἐπινοεῖν θέμις. 4.3.10 τί γὰρ ἂν καὶ γένοιτο ταύτης ἕτερον κατὰ πάντα τῷ πατρὶ ἀφωμοιωμένης, εἰ μή τι ἄρα ὑποβεβηκὸς καὶ χεῖρον; ὃ οὐδαμῶς ἡμῖν ἐν τῇ τοῦ υἱοῦ θεολογίᾳ παρεισακτέον. «ἀτμὶς γάρ ἐστιν τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ δυνάμεως καὶ ἀπόρροια τῆς τοῦ παντοκράτορος δόξης εἰλικρινής». 4.3.11 ἐξ εὐώδους μέντοι σώματος, μύρου τινὸς φέρε ἢ καὶ τῶν ἀπὸ γῆς ἀκμαζόντων ἀνθῶν τε καὶ ἀρωμάτων, εὐώδης τις πνοὴ παρὰ τὸ πρῶτον ὑποκείμενον εἰς ἅπαν τὸ ἐκτὸς περιέχον προχεῖται καὶ πληροῖ γε καὶ τὸν ἀέρα εἰς πλάτος ἀναχεομένη, οὔτι πω κατὰ στέρησιν ἢ μείωσιν ἢ τομὴν ἢ διαίρεσιν τοῦ προϋποκειμένου. 4.3.12 τούτου γὰρ ἐν οἰκείᾳ χώρᾳ μένοντος καὶ τὴν ταυτότητα πρὸς ἑαυτὸ σώζοντος τήν τε εὐώδη δύναμιν ἀπογεννῶντος, οὐδὲν τοῦ προτέρου χεῖρον καὶ τὸ γεννώμενον εὐῶδες, οἰκείαν ἔχον ὑπόστασιν, ὡς ὅτι μάλιστα τὸ ὁμοιότατον τῇ τοῦ γεννήσαντος φύσει διὰ τῆς οἰκείας ἀπομεμίμηται. πλὴν ἀλλ' ἔτι ταῦτα γεώδη καὶ θνητὰ καὶ μέρη τῆς κάτω φθοροποιοῦ καὶ γεώδους φύσεως. 4.3.13 τά γε μὴν τῆς προκειμένης ἡμῖν θεολογίας, ἐπέκεινα παντὸς ὄντα παραδείγματος, οὐδὲν μὲν οἷον τὰ ἐκ σωμάτων ἐπάγεται, ὀξυτάτῃ δὲ διανοίᾳ φαντάζεται υἱὸν γεννητόν, οὐ χρόνοις μέν τισιν οὐκ ὄντα, ὕστερον δέ ποτε γεγονότα, ἀλλὰ πρὸ χρόνων αἰωνίων ὄντα καὶ προόντα, καὶ τῷ πατρὶ ὡς υἱὸν διὰ παντὸς συνόντα, καὶ οὐκ ἀγέννητον ὄντα, γεννώμενον δ' ἐξ ἀγεννήτου πατρός, μονογενῆ ὄντα, λόγον τε καὶ θεὸν ἐκ θεοῦ, οὐ κατὰ διάστασιν ἢ τομὴν ἢ διαίρεσιν ἐκ τῆς τοῦ πατρὸς οὐσίας προβεβλημένον, ἀρρήτως δὲ καὶ ἀνεπιλογίστως ἡμῖν, ἐξ αἰῶνος μᾶλλον δὲ πρὸ πάντων αἰώνων, ἐκ τῆς τοῦ πατρὸς ἀνεκφράστου καὶ ἀπερινοήτου βουλῆς τε καὶ δυνάμεως οὐσιούμενον διδάσκοντα. «τὴν γενεὰν γὰρ αὐτοῦ», φησίν, «τίς διηγήσεται»; καὶ ὥσπερ οὐδεὶς ἔγνω τὸν πατέρα εἰ μὴ ὁ υἱός, οὕτως καὶ τὸν υἱὸν οὐδεὶς ἔγνω εἰ μὴ μόνος ὁ γεννήσας αὐτὸν πατήρ. 4.4.1 Πλὴν ἀλλ' ἕνα μονογενῆ καὶ ἀγαπητὸν υἱὸν ἐδόκει τῷ παναγάθῳ πατρὶ τῆς τῶν γενητῶν ἁπάντων δημιουργίας προϋφίστασθαι δεῖν, ἐπεὶ καὶ κόσμον ἕνα, ὥσπερ τι ἓν καὶ μέγα σῶμα, ἐκ πλειόνων καὶ διαφόρων μελῶν τε καὶ μερῶν ἤμελλεν ὅσον οὐδέπω προβάλλεσθαι, ..., οὐκ ἐπιστατεῖν μὲν αὐτὴν ἄνωθεν, ὥσπερ μείζονος κεφαλῆς, τῆς τοῦ πατρὸς θεότητος ἐξημμένην κεφαλὴ γὰρ τοῦ Χριστοῦ ὁ πατήρ, ἡγουμένην δὲ καὶ προϋπάρχουσαν τῶν μετὰ ταύτην ἁπάντων, οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ διαρκοῦσαν εἴς τε τὴν τοῦ πατρὸς ἐπικέλευσιν καὶ εἰς τὴν τῶν μετὰ ταῦτα δημιουργίαν. 4.4.2 διὸ δὴ καὶ ἔφαμεν αὐτὸν πρῶτον πάντων ὑπὸ τοῦ πατρὸς οἷόν τι μονοειδὲς πάσης οὐσίας καὶ φύσεως προβεβλῆσθαι ὄργανον ἔμψυχον καὶ ζῶν, μᾶλλον δ' ἔνθεον καὶ ζωοποιὸν καὶ πάνσοφον, ἀγαθῶν γεννητικόν, φωτὸς χορηγόν, οὐρανοῦ δημιουργικόν, κόσμου κατασκευαστικόν, ἀγγέλων ποιητικόν, πνευμάτων ἀρχοντικόν, ὄργανον ψυχῶν