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having understood nature with reason, know these to be the true works of the one who came to you through the flesh, which, he says, if they were to be written one by one—the what and how and whence and how much—the multitude of the teaching about this very world 2.1.122 would be beyond the capacity of the world. For since God made all things in wisdom, and the wisdom of God has no limit (For of his understanding, it says, there is no number), the world, limited by its own measures, will not contain in itself the account of the indefinite wisdom. If, therefore, the whole world is too small to contain the teaching of the works of the Lord, how many worlds will contain 2.1.123 the narration concerning the God of all things? For perhaps not even the blasphemous tongue will deny that the maker is infinitely greater than all the things brought into being by his will alone. If, therefore, all creation is incapable of containing the account of itself (for the great John testifies to this, at least according to our argument), how could human smallness contain the whole account of the master of creation? 2.1.124 Let those who utter great things say what is man, when considered in comparison to the universe? What geometric point is so without parts, what Epicurean atom is so refined by the vanity of those who contemplate these things and comes close to non-being, as human smallness is as nothing when judged against the whole? As the great David also says, having well considered our nothingness, that “My substance is as nothing before you,” not saying it is absolutely nothing, but like nothing, signifying that which is small beyond all hyperbole by comparison with that which is non-existent. 2.1.125 But nevertheless, setting out from such a nature, they open wide their own mouths against the ineffable power and with a single appellation they measure the indefinite nature, constricting the essence of God with the name of 20unbegottenness,20 so that through these things they may pave the way for themselves for the blasphemy against the only-begotten. And when the great Basil had corrected their deceived notion and had explained certain things concerning names, that they are not from nature but are applied to things by conception, they are so far from returning to the truth, that just as if held by some bird-lime to the things once said by them they do not let go of the sophism, not even that 'unbegotten' is said by conception, but 2.1.126 they determine that it is indicative of the nature. Therefore, for the argument to go through everything and, citing that nonsensical and long-winded foolish talk, to try to refute it word for word would require long leisure and much time and much 2.1.127 inactivity, just as I hear also that Eunomius, for a period longer than the Trojan war, having labored diligently and with much quiet, fabricated for himself this long dream in a deep sleep, laboriously seeking not how he might interpret any of the thoughts, but how he might drag in forced meanings for the words and collecting the more euphonic sounds from certain 2.1.128 writings; and just as the poor, for lack of clothing, stitch together their tunics for themselves from certain rags, patching them around, so also this man, gleaning one word from here and another from there, has through these woven for himself the patchwork cloak of his argument, not without toil gluing together and fitting the junction of his phrases, the paltry and boyish character of whose ambition is as contemptible for a man in competition looking toward the truth, as for some hardy and 2.1.129 seasoned athlete to be effeminate through elaborate hairdressing, but it seems to me better, having run through the aim of the whole undertaking in a few words, to bid farewell to the long periods. 2.1.130 Therefore it has been said by us (for I make the argument of the master my own) that of the divine nature we have a faint and very small apprehension through our reasonings, yet sufficient for the smallness of our power; we piously glean our 2.1.131 knowledge through the names spoken concerning it. And we say that the meaning of these names is not uniform for all of them, but some have the emphasis of things belonging to God, while others of things not belonging to him, for instance, we call him just and incorruptible, indicating by 'just' that justice belongs to him, and by 'incorruptible' that corruption does not belong to him. And it is possible again, by interchanging the significations, to apply the names fittingly to God in the opposite way, so as to represent by the negating term that which is proper, 2.1.132 and by the positive term that which is alien. For since justice is contrary to injustice, and everlastingness is opposed to corruption, it is possible to use the contraries fittingly in the case of God, and not to miss what is fitting by saying both that he exists forever and that he is not unjust, which is the same

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φύσιν τῷ λογισμῷ κατανοήσας, ταῦτα γνῶθι τὰ ἀληθινὰ τοῦ σοι διὰ σαρκὸς ἐπιδημήσαντος ἔργα, ἅτινα, φησίν, ἐὰν καθ' ἕκαστον γράφηται τὸ τί καὶ ὅπως καὶ ὅθεν καὶ πόσον, ὑπὲρ τὸ χώρημα τοῦ κόσμου τῆς περὶ 2.1.122 αὐτοῦ τοῦ κόσμου διδασκαλίας ἔσται τὸ πλῆθος. ἐπειδὴ γὰρ τὰ πάντα ὁ θεὸς ἐν σοφίᾳ ἐποίησεν, ὅρον δὲ ἡ τοῦ θεοῦ σοφία οὐκ ἔχει (Τῆς γὰρ συνέσεως αὐτοῦ, φησίν, οὐκ ἔστιν ἀριθμός), ὁ τοῖς ἰδίοις μέτροις πεπερασμένος κόσμος οὐ χωρήσει ἐν ἑαυτῷ τῆς ἀορίστου σοφίας τὸν λόγον. εἰ οὖν ὁ κόσμος ὅλος ἐλάττων ἐστὶν ἢ ὥστε τὴν διδασκαλίαν τῶν ἔργων τοῦ κυρίου χωρῆσαι, πόσοι κόσμοι χωρήσουσιν 2.1.123 τὴν περὶ τοῦ θεοῦ τῶν ὅλων διήγησιν; τάχα γὰρ οὐδὲ ἡ βλάσφημος ἀρνήσεται γλῶσσα τὸ ἀπειροπλασίονα εἶναι τὸν ποιητὴν πάντων τῶν μόνῳ θελήματι παραχθέντων εἰς γένεσιν. εἰ οὖν ἡ κτίσις πᾶσα τοῦ περὶ ἑαυτῆς λόγου ἐστὶν ἀχώρητος (τοῦτο γὰρ ὁ μέγας Ἰωάννης μαρτύρεται κατά γε τὸν ἡμέτερον λόγον), πῶς ἂν ἀνθρωπίνη βραχύτης ὅλον τὸν περὶ τοῦ δεσπότου τῆς κτίσεως χωρήσειε λόγον; 2.1.124 εἰπάτωσαν οἱ τὰ μεγάλα φθεγγόμενοι τί ἐστιν ἄνθρωπος συγκρίσει τοῦ παντὸς θεωρούμενος; ποῖον γεωμετρικὸν σημεῖον οὕτως ἀμερές, τί τῶν Ἐπικουρείων ἀτόμων οὕτω τῇ ματαιότητι τῶν ταῦτα θεωρούντων ἀπολεπτύνεται καὶ ἐγγὺς τοῦ μὴ ὄντος γίνεται, ὡς ἀνθρωπίνη βραχύτης ἀντ' οὐδενός ἐστι πρὸς τὸ πᾶν κρινομένη; καθώς φησι καὶ ὁ μέγας ∆αβὶδ καλῶς ἐπεσκεμμένος ἡμῶν τὴν οὐθένειαν ὅτι Ἡ ὑπόστασίς μου ὡσεὶ οὐθὲν ἐπώπιόν σου, οὐ παντελῶς εἶναι λέγων οὐδέν, ἀλλ' ὅμοιον τῷ μηδέν, τὸ καθ' ὑπερβολὴν πᾶσαν βραχὺ τῇ πρὸς τὸ ἀνύπαρκτον συγκρίσει διασημαίνων. 2.1.125 Ἀλλ' ὅμως ἀπὸ τοιαύτης ὡρμημένοι φύσεως πλατύ νουσι κατὰ τῆς ἀφράστου δυνάμεως τὰ ἴδια στόματα καὶ προσηγορίᾳ μιᾷ τὴν ἀόριστον φύσιν περιμετροῦσι τῷ ὀνόματι τῆς 20ἀγεννησίας20 τὴν οὐσίαν τοῦ θεοῦ περισφίγγοντες, ἵνα τὴν κατὰ τοῦ μονογενοῦς ἑαυτοῖς βλασφημίαν διὰ τού των ὁδοποιήσωσι. τοῦ δὲ μεγάλου Βασιλείου διορθωσαμένου τὴν ἠπατημένην ὑπόνοιαν καί τινα περὶ τῶν ὀνομάτων διεξ ελθόντος ὡς οὐκ ἐκ φύσεως ὄντων, ἀλλὰ κατ' ἐπίνοιαν ἐπικειμένων τοῖς πράγμασι, τοσοῦτον ἀπέχουσι τοῦ ἀναλῦσαι πρὸς τὴν ἀλήθειαν, ὅτι καθάπερ ἰξῷ τινι προσκατέχονται τοῖς ἅπαξ παρ' αὐτῶν εἰρημένοις καὶ οὐ μεθίενται τοῦ σοφίσματος οὐδὲ κατ' ἐπίνοιαν λέγεσθαι τὸ ἀγέννητον, ἀλλὰ 2.1.126 τῆς φύσεως εἶναι παραστατικὸν διορίζονται. τὸ μὲν οὖν πάντα διεξιέναι τὸν λόγον καὶ τὴν ληρώδη καὶ μακρὰν ἐκείνην παραθέμενον φλυαρίαν ἐπὶ λέξεως ἀνατρέπειν πει ρᾶσθαι μακρᾶς ἂν εἴη σχολῆς καὶ χρόνου πολλοῦ καὶ πολ 2.1.127 λῆς ἀπραξίας δεόμενον, καθάπερ ἀκούω καὶ τὸν Εὐνόμιον ὑπὲρ τὸν Ἰλιακὸν πόλεμον τῇ πολυετίᾳ φιλοπόνως καὶ καθ' ἡσυχίαν πολλὴν προσεδρεύσαντα ἐν πολλῷ τῷ ὕπνῳ τὸν μακρὸν τοῦτον ὄνειρον ἑαυτῷ συμπλάσαι, ζητοῦντα φιλο πόνως οὐχ ὅπως ἑρμηνεύσῃ τι τῶν νοηθέντων, ἀλλ' ὅπως κατὰ τῶν λέξεων ἐπισύρηται κατηναγκασμένα νοήματα καὶ περισυλλέγοντα τὰς εὐηχοτέρας φωνὰς ἐκ συγγραμμάτων 2.1.128 τινῶν· καὶ ὥσπερ οἱ πτωχοὶ δι' ἀπορίαν ἐσθῆτος ἐκ ῥακω μάτων τινῶν τοὺς χιτῶνας ἑαυτοῖς περικεντοῦντες συρρά πτουσιν, οὕτω καὶ τοῦτον ἄλλην ἀλλαχόθεν λέξιν περι βοσκόμενον διὰ τούτων ἐξυφῆναι ἑαυτῷ τοῦ λόγου τὸν κέν τρωνα, οὐκ ἀταλαιπώρως διακολλῶντα τὴν συμβολὴν τῶν ῥημάτων καὶ συναρμόζοντα, οὗ τὸ γλίσχρον καὶ μειρακιῶδες τῆς φιλοτιμίας εἰς ἅμιλλαν ἀνδρὶ πρὸς ἀλήθειαν βλέποντι τοσοῦτον ἀπόβλητον, ὅσον ἀθλητῇ τινι τῶν καρτερικῶν καὶ 2.1.129 ἐξώρων τὸ διὰ περιεργίας κομμωτικῆς γυναικίζεσθαι, ἀλλά μοι δοκεῖ τὸν σκοπὸν τοῦ παντὸς ἐγχειρήματος δι' ὀλίγων ἐπιδραμόντα τὰς μακρὰς περιόδους χαίρειν ἐᾶσαι. 2.1.130 Οὐκοῦν εἴρηται παρ' ἡμῶν (οἰκειοῦμαι γὰρ τοῦ διδα σκάλου τὸν λόγον) ὅτι τῆς θείας φύσεως ἀμυδρὰν μὲν καὶ βραχυτάτην ἔχομεν διὰ τῶν λογισμῶν τὴν ἀντίληψιν, ἀπο χρῶσαν δ' ὅμως τῇ βραχύτητι τῆς δυνάμεως ἡμῶν διὰ τῶν ὀνομάτων τῶν περὶ αὐτὴν λεγομένων εὐσεβῶς τὴν 2.1.131 γνῶσιν ἐρανιζόμεθα. τούτων δέ φαμεν τῶν ὀνομάτων οὐ μονοειδῆ πάντων εἶναι τὴν σημασίαν, ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν τῶν προσόντων τῷ θεῷ, τὰ δὲ τῶν ἀποπεφυκότων ἔχει τὴν ἔμφασιν, οἷον δίκαιον αὐτὸν καὶ ἄφθαρτον λέγομεν, τῷ μὲν δικαίῳ τὸ προσεῖναι δικαιοσύνην, τῷ δὲ ἀφθάρτῳ τὸ μὴ προσεῖναι φθορὰν ἐνδεικνύμενοι. ἔξεστι δὲ πάλιν καὶ ὑπαλ λάξαντα τὰς σημασίας κατὰ τὸ ἔμπαλιν προσφυῶς ἐφαρ μόσαι τῷ θεῷ τὰ ὀνόματα, ὥστε τῷ μὲν ἀπεμφαίνοντι τὸ 2.1.132 οἰκεῖον, τῷ δὲ προσόντι τὸ ἀλλότριον παραστῆσαι. τῇ γὰρ δικαιοσύνῃ τῆς ἀδικίας ἐναντιουμένης, τῇ δὲ φθορᾷ τῆς ἀϊδιότητος ἀντικειμένης, δυνατόν ἐστι χρήσασθαι προσφόρως ἐπὶ τοῦ θεοῦ τοῖς ἐναντίοις, καὶ μὴ διαμαρτεῖν τοῦ προσή κοντος ἐν τῷ εἰπεῖν ἀεί τε αὐτὸν εἶναι καὶ ἄδικον μὴ εἶναι, ὅπερ ἴσον