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to move from the curved, but to lead it back to the broken, and to correct the crooked with what is crooked, now saying there are two principles, now denying the knowledge of God that is possible, now, but nothing further. You, then, having cut one of these two things from your arguments, (σελ. 536) after the jeers from others and your own elaborate reflection as you yourself say, do not even so desist; but fighting for both in the hypocrisy of the heterodox, you proceed against the orthodox and the patristic sayings put forth by us, I know not how, you attempt to refute and would give many cause to fear that you, feigning against the Latins, are proposing us. But let us take up again and set forth more clearly, what we said that would have been unreasonable for the philosopher to bear calmly.

Of divine things, some are known, others are sought, and there are some that are also demonstrated, but others are entirely unsearchable and untraceable, with no trace at all appearing of those who have crossed over to that hidden place. The philosopher took these things hard, and collecting himself as much as possible, he uses the power of his arguments against us, declaring that nothing of divine things is knowable or demonstrable; but that the things said by us seem right also to the fathers, the things said before are sufficient to show, and that some of their theologies bear demonstration as an inscription, I do not think anyone who loves them is ignorant of this, so that he who says there is no demonstration for any of the divine things attempts to contradict the fathers rather than us. For this word "demonstration," lying in between, can signify another kind of proof; but how could it be inscribed if what was written below were not properly a demonstration?

And if "demonstration" signifies a complete and firm proof, after which there is no more complete discovery of truth, just as a verdict in the law courts, what is more complete and firm for us than the patristic demonstrations, so that this is for us properly a demonstration, wherefore also the holy and divine Hierotheus, who bears a sacred name, is testified above the many holy (σελ. 538) teachers not "by purity of mind alone and the other sacred discourses, but also by the precision of his demonstrations"; and he himself who bears witness to such things for him and who loftily unfolded the condensed and lofty character of that one's theology, clearly teaches that theology is twofold: "the one mystical, initiatory, secret, ineffable, which acts and establishes one in God by unteachable initiations, the other manifest and philosophical and demonstrative, which persuades and binds one to the truth of what is said." How then did he name this not dialectical, but demonstrative, O philosopher, although it is not simply for the faithful, for they do not need persuasion?

Nevertheless, even if it were not so clearly written and inscribed by them, the points of the contradiction are thus clearly referred to them. For just as if someone should attempt to contradict one who, from opposites, composes the divine names for those who said God is the same and other and great and small, and for similar pious men, saying, "He who becomes all things in all for the salvation of each, and who gives Himself in many ways and appropriately to those who turn to Him and is likened in many forms in the hands of the prophets, how could He be the same, and again, how could He who is without age, who is contained in all things, who has transcended all mass, be great?"; so then, he who says these things does not simply contend with the one who said God is the same or great, but he raises up the Holy Scripture against itself (for "other" concerning God and "small" said by it will again be overturned in the same way; for that which surpasses all things and extends beyond all things, for the one who says that some of the divine things

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κινεῖν μέν ἀπό τοῦ καμπύλου, ἀλλ᾿ ἐπί τό κεκλασμένον αὖθις ἄγειν, καί διορθοῦν τοῖς ἐνδιαστρόφοις τά ἐνδιάστροφα, νῦν μέν δύο λέγοντα ἀρχάς, νῦν δέ τήν ἐπί Θεοῦ ἐνδεχομένην ἀναιροῦντα γνῶσιν, νῦν δέ, ἀλλά μηδέν γε περαιτέρω. Σύ δή τῶν δύο τούτων θάτερον μέν ἐκκόψας σου τῶν λόγων, (σελ. 536) μετά τά παρ᾿ ἄλλων σκώμματα καί τήν σήν διαπεπονημένην σκέψιν ὡς αὐτός λέγεις, οὐδ᾿ οὕτως παραιτῇ˙ μαχόμενος δ᾿ ὑπέρ ἀμφοτέρων ἐν ὑποκρίσει τῶν ἑτεροφρόνων, χωρεῖς κατά τῶν ὁμοφρόνων καί τάς πατρικάς φωνάς παρ᾿ ἡμῶν προτεινομένας, οὐκ οἶδ᾿ ὅπως, ἀναιρεῖν ἐπιχειρεῖς καί πολλοῖς ἄν δοίης δεδιέναι μή καί τά πρός Λατίνους ὑποκρινόμενος ἡμᾶς προτείνεις. Ἀλλ᾿ ἀναλαβόντες σαφέστερον προεκθώμεθα, τί λεγόντων ἡμῶν τόν φιλόσοφον πράως ἐνεγκεῖν τῶν ἀπεικότων ἦν.

Τῶν θείων τά μέν γινώσκεται, τά δέ ζητεῖται, ἔστι δ᾿ ἅ καί ἀποδείκνυται, ἕτερα δέ ἐστιν ἀνεξερεύνητα πάντῃ καί ἀνεξιχνίαστα, μηδαμῶς ἐμφαινομένου τινός ἴχνους τῶν ἐπί τό κρύφιον ἐκεῖνο διαβεβηκότων. Ταῦτα βαρέως ἤνεγκεν ὁ φιλόσοφος, καί συναγαγών ἑαυτόν ὡς οἷόν τε καθ᾿ ἡμῶν χρῆται τῇ δυνάμει τῶν λόγων, οὐδέν γνωστόν οὐδέ ἀποδεικτόν τῶν θείων ἀποφαινόμενος˙ ἀλλ᾿ ὡς μέν καί τοῖς πατρᾶσιν συνδοκεῖ τά παρ᾿ ἡμῶν εἰρημένα καί τά προειρημένα ἱκανά δηλῶσαι, τό δέ καί τῶν ἐκείνων θεολογιῶν ἔστιν ἅς ἐπίγραμμα φέρειν τήν ἀπόδειξιν, τοῦτ᾿ οὐκ οἶμαί τινα τῶν ταύτας στεργόντων ἀγνοεῖν, ὥσθ᾿ ὁ λέγων μή εἶναι ἀπόδειξιν ἐπ᾿ οὐδενός τῶν θείων τοῖς πατρᾶσι μᾶλλον ἤ ἡμῖν ἀντιλέγειν ἐγχειρεῖν. Μεταξύ γάρ τό τῆς ἀποδείξεως τοῦτο κείμενον ἔνι δηλοῦν ἑτέραν δεῖξιν˙ ἐπιγεγραμμένον δέ πῶς ἄν εἴη, εἰ μή κυρίως ἀπόδειξις εἴη τό ὑπογεγραμμένον;

Εἰ δέ καί τήν τελείαν καί βεβαίαν δεῖξιν ἀπόδειξις δηλοῖ, μεθ᾿ ἥν οὐκ ἔστιν ἀληθείας εὕρεσις τελεωτέρα, καθάπερ ἐπί τῶν δικαστηρίων ἡ ἀπόφασις, τί τελεώτερον καί βεβαιότερον τῶν πατρικῶν ἀποδείξεων ἡμῖν, ὥστε τοῦθ᾿ ἡμῖν κυρίως ἀπόδειξις, διό καί ὁ ἱερός καί θεῖος φερώνυμος Ἱερόθεος ὑπέρ τούς πολλούς μαρτυρεῖται τῶν ἱερῶν (σελ. 538) διδασκάλων οὐ «καθαρότητι νοῦ μόνον καί ταῖς ἄλλαις ἱερολογίαις, ἀλλά καί τῇ τῶν ἀποδείξεων ἀκριβείᾳ»˙ καί αὐτός δέ ὁ τά τοιαῦτα τούτῳ μαρτυρῶν καί τό συνεπτυγμένον καί ὑψηλόν τῆς ἐκείνου θεολογίας ὑψηλῶς ἀναπτύξας διττήν σαφῶς εἶναι διδάσκει τήν θεολογίαν˙ «τήν μέν μυστικήν, τελεστικήν, ἀπόρρητον, ἄρρητον, ἥ δρᾷ καί ἐνιδρύει τῷ Θεῷ ταῖς ἀδιδάκτοις μυσταγωγίαις, τήν δέ ἐμφανῆ καί φιλόσοφον καί ἀποδεικτικήν, ἥ πείθει καί καταδεῖται τῶν λεγομένων τήν ἀλήθειαν». Πῶς οὖν οὐ διαλετικήν ταύτην, ἀλλ᾿ ἀποδεικτικήν ὠνόμασεν, ὦ φιλόσοφε, καίτοι μή πρός τούς πιστούς ἁπλῶς οὖσαν, οὐδέ γάρ πειθοῦς οὗτοι δέονται;

Οὐ μήν ἀλλ᾿ εἰ καί μή σαφῶς οὕτω παρ᾿ αὐτῶν ἐγγεγραμμένον τε καί ἐπιγεγραμμένον ἦν, τά γοῦν τῆς ἀντιρρήσεως καί οὕτω πρός ἐκείνους ἀναφέρεται σαφῶς. Ὡς γάρ εἴ τις τῷ ταὐτόν καί ἕτερον καί μέγα καί μικρόν εἰπόντων τόν Θεόν κἀπί τῶν παραπλησίων εὐσεβῶν ἐκ τῶν ἐναντίων συντιθέντι τάς θεωνυμίας ἀντιλέγειν ἐγχειροίη, λέγων «ὁ ἐν πᾶσι πάντα διά τήν σωτηρίαν ἑκάστου γινόμενος, καί τοῖς πρός αὐτόν ἐπιστρέφουσι πολυτρόπως τε καί καταλλήλως ἐπιδιδούς ἑαυτόν καί πολυειδῶς ἐν χερσί τῶν προφητῶν ὁμοιούμενος, πῶς ὁ αὐτός ἄν εἴη, καί αὖθις ὁ ἀπήλικος, ὁ ἐν πᾶσι χωρῶν, ὁ παντός ἐκβεβηκώς ὄγκου πῶς μέγας;»˙ ὥσπερ οὖν ὁ ταῦτα λέγων οὐχ ἁπλῶς ἐρίζει πρός τόν ταὐτόν ἤ μέγαν τόν Θεόν εἰπόντα ἀλλά τήν ἱεράν ἀνίστησι Γραφήν αὐτήν καθ᾿ ἑαυτῆς (καί τό ἕτερον γάρ ἐπί Θεοῦ καί τό μικρόν παρ᾿ αὐτῆς λεγόμενον πάλιν τόν αὐτόν ἀνατραπήσεται τρόπον˙ τό γάρ πάντα ὑπερβάλλον καί πάντων ὑπερεκτεινόμενον τῷ λέγοντι ὡς τά μέν τῶν θείων