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the meaning or of nature? no 2.1.152 one would say anything other than the energy. When, therefore, having put into effect compassions or mercy, did God receive the name from the energy? Was it before human life? And who was it that needed mercy? But it was certainly after sin, and sin was after man. Therefore, after man came both the energy of having mercy and the 2.1.153 name of mercy. What then? Will he who thinks himself above the prophets also condemn David, because he named God by those things through which he conceived him, or will he also contend against him, putting forward that solemn saying as if from a tragedy, that 20he adorns the most blessed life of God with names from conception, which rejoices 2.1.154 in itself alone and before the generation of those who conceive it20? For he who speaks on behalf of the prophet will certainly say that the divine nature rejoices in itself alone and before the generation of those who conceive it, but the human mind, being taught by the energies as much as it can comprehend, utters that much. For from the greatness and beauty of created things, Wisdom says, their originator is seen by analogy; and to the divine essence which surpasses all mind we apply such appellations, not adorning it by the names we give, but guiding ourselves 2.1.155 through what is said to the understanding of hidden things. I said to the Lord, says the prophet, You are my God, for you have no need of my good things. How then do we so 20adorn the most blessed life of God20, as this man says, which the prophet says is in no need of human good things? 2.1.156 Or did he mean 20adorn20 instead of name? And yet we hear from those who use the word correctly and have been taught the precise use of names that the term 20adorn20 is not assigned to mere declaration, but that such an act is called to make known or to declare or to signify or 2.1.157 some other such thing, while to adorn is equivalent to glorying in and exulting in and whatever else has such an emphasis; but he says that we 20adorn the blessed life with the names of conception20. But we think it is beyond human weakness to add any honor to the divine nature, which is above all honor, yet we do not deny 2.1.158 that we attempt to make known something about it through piously conceived words and names. And for this reason, tracing out piety as far as we are able, we apprehend that the first cause does not have its subsistence from a superior cause. If someone were to accept this as true, it would be praiseworthy for the truth alone; but if he should judge this to be greater than the other things conceived concerning the divine nature, and for this reason say that God exults and rejoices in this notion alone, as if adorning himself with some preeminent quality, it would belong only to the Muse of Eunomius, who says that unbegottenness itself rejoices in itself, which indeed he calls essence and names blessed and divine life. 2.1.159 But let us hear how, according to 20the manner appropriate to the need and the preceding type20 (for so he beautifies it for us again with names of like form) how through these things he says he 20dispels the suspicion that had arisen about him, and restrains the ignorance of the deceived20. For I will use the dithyrambist's own words with their similar endings. 20Having said20, he says, 20that things said by conception are naturally dissolved along with the words, we added to these things:

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τὴν σημασίαν ἢ φύσεως; οὐκ 2.1.152 ἄν τις ἄλλο τι παρὰ τὴν ἐνέργειαν εἴποι. πότε τοίνυν ἐνεργήσας τοὺς οἰκτιρμοὺς ἢ τὸν ἔλεον ὁ θεὸς ἔσχεν ἐκ τῆς ἐνεργείας τὸ ὄνομα; ἆρα πρὸ τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης ζωῆς; καὶ τίς ἦν ὁ τοῦ ἐλέου δεόμενος; ἀλλὰ μετὰ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν πάντως, ἡ δὲ ἁμαρτία μετὰ τὸν ἄνθρωπον. οὐκοῦν μετὰ τὸν ἄνθρωπον καὶ ἡ τοῦ ἐλεεῖν ἐνέργεια καὶ τοῦ ἐλέου τὸ 2.1.153 ὄνομα. τί οὖν; ἆρα μὴ καὶ τοῦ ∆αβὶδ καταγνώσεται ὁ ὑπὲρ τοὺς προφήτας φρονῶν, ὅτι δι' ὧν ἐνόησε τὸν θεόν, διὰ τούτων ὠνόμασεν, ἢ καὶ πρὸς αὐτὸν ζυγομαχήσει τὴν σεμνὴν ἐκείνην ὥσπερ ἐκ τραγῳδίας προτείνων ῥῆσιν, ὅτι 20τὴν μακαριωτάτην τοῦ θεοῦ ζωὴν τοῖς παρὰ τῆς ἐπινοίας ἀγάλλει ὀνόμασι, τὴν ἐφ' ἑαυτῇ μόνῃ καὶ πρὸ τῆς τῶν ἐπινοούντων γεννήσεως 2.1.154 ἀγαλλομένην20; ἐρεῖ γὰρ πάντως ὁ ὑπὲρ τοῦ προφήτου λέ γων, ὅτι ἡ μὲν θεία φύσις ἐφ' ἑαυτῇ μόνῃ ἀγάλλεται καὶ πρὸ τῆς τῶν ἐπινοούντων γεννήσεως, ὁ δὲ ἀνθρώπινος νοῦς, ὅσον χωρεῖ διὰ τῶν ἐνεργειῶν διδασκόμενος, τοσοῦτον φθέγγεται. ἐκ γὰρ μεγέθους καὶ καλλονῆς κτισμάτων ἀναλόγως ἡ σοφία φησὶ τὸν πάντων γενεσιουργὸν θεωρεῖσθαι· τῇ δὲ θείᾳ καὶ ὑπερεχούσῃ πάντα νοῦν οὐσίᾳ τὰς τοιαύτας προσ ηγορίας ἐπιφημίζομεν, οὐκ ἐκείνην ἀγάλλοντες δι' ὧν ὀνο μάζομεν, ἀλλ' ἡμᾶς αὐτοὺς διὰ τῶν λεγομένων ὁδηγοῦντες 2.1.155 πρὸς τὴν τῶν κρυπτῶν κατανόησιν. Εἶπα τῷ κυρίῳ, φησὶν ὁ προφήτης, θεός μου εἶ σύ, ὅτι τῶν ἀγαθῶν μου οὐ χρείαν ἔχεις. πῶς οὖν 20τὴν μακαριωτάτην τοῦ θεοῦ ζωὴν20 ἡμεῖς οὕτως, καθώς φησιν οὗτος, 20ἀγάλλομεν20, ἥν φησιν ὁ προφήτης ἀπροσδεᾶ τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων εἶναι καλῶν; 2.1.156 ἢ ἀντὶ τοῦ ὀνομάζειν τὸ 20ἀγάλλειν20 ἐνόησε; καὶ μὴν ἀκούομεν παρὰ τῶν ὀρθῶς τῇ λέξει χρωμένων καὶ δι' ἀκριβείας τῶν ὀνομάτων τὴν χρῆσιν πεπαιδευμένων μὴ ἐπὶ ψιλῆς τῆς δηλώσεως τὴν τοῦ 20ἀγάλλειν20 τετάχθαι φωνήν, ἀλλὰ τὸ μὲν τοιοῦτον ἢ γνωρίζειν ἢ δηλοῦν ἢ σημαίνειν ἢ 2.1.157 ἄλλο τι τοιουτότροπον λέγεσθαι, τὸ δὲ ἀγάλλειν ἴσον ἐστὶ τῷ ἐπικαυχᾶσθαι καὶ ἐπευφραίνεσθαι καὶ εἴ τι τῆς τοιαύτης ἐμφάσεως ἔχεται· ὁ δέ φησιν ἡμᾶς 20τοῖς τῆς ἐπινοίας ὀνόμασι τὴν μακαρίαν ἀγάλλειν ζωήν20. ἡμεῖς δὲ προσθεῖναι μέν τινα τῇ θείᾳ φύσει τιμὴν τῇ ὑπὲρ πᾶσαν οὔσῃ τιμὴν μεῖζον ἢ κατὰ τὴν ἀσθένειαν τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην οἰόμεθα, γνωρίσαι δέ τι τῶν περὶ αὐτὴν διὰ τῶν εὐσεβῶς ἐπινοουμένων ῥημάτων τε καὶ ὀνομάτων ἐπιχειρεῖν οὐκ ἀρ 2.1.158 νούμεθα. καὶ διὰ τοῦτο καθ' ὅσον δυνατὸν ἡμῖν τὸ εὐσεβὲς ἰχνεύοντες τὸ μὴ ἐξ αἰτίας ὑπερκειμένης τὸ πρῶτον αἴτιον τὴν ὑπόστασιν ἔχειν καταλαμβάνομεν. ὅπερ εἰ μὲν ὡς ἀληθὲς ἀποδέχοιτό τις, ἐπαινετὸν ἂν εἴη διὰ τὴν ἀλήθειαν μόνην· εἰ δὲ ὡς μεῖζον τῶν λοιπῶν τῶν περὶ τὴν θείαν φύσιν νοουμένων τὸ τοιοῦτον κρίνοι καὶ διὰ τοῦτο μόνῃ ταύτῃ τῇ ὑπολήψει λέγοι τὸν θεὸν ἐπιγαυριῶντα καὶ εὐφραινόμενον ὥς τινι τῶν ὑπερεχόντων ἀγάλλεσθαι, μόνης τῆς Εὐνομίου Μούσης ἂν εἴη τοῦ λέγοντος αὐτὴν ἐφ' ἑαυτῇ τὴν ἀγεννη σίαν ἀγάλλεσθαι, ἣν δὴ οὐσίαν τε λέγει καὶ μακαρίαν τε καὶ θείαν ὀνομάζει ζωήν. 2.1.159 Ἀλλ' ἀκούσωμεν πῶς κατὰ 20τὸν ἐπιβάλλοντα τῇ χρείᾳ τρόπον καὶ τὸν προλαβόντα τύπον20 (οὕτω γὰρ τοῖς ἰσοτύποις τῶν ὀνομάτων πάλιν ἡμῖν ἐνωραΐζεται) πῶς διὰ τούτων 20διαλύειν μέν20 φησι 20τὴν περὶ αὐτοῦ γενομένην ὑπόνοιαν, περιστέλλειν δὲ τὴν τῶν ἠπατημένων ἄγνοιαν20. αὐταῖς γὰρ χρήσομαι τοῦ δι θυραμβιστοῦ ταῖς ὁμοιοκαταλήκτοις φωναῖς. 20εἰπόντες20, φησίν, 20ὅτι τὰ κατ' ἐπίνοιαν λεγόμενα ταῖς φω ναῖς συνδιαλύεσθαι πέφυκεν, ἐπηγάγομεν τού τοις·