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Whom was he intending to benefit by such a voice? For to arrange the word in accordance with the capacity of the hearers for the purpose of their benefit, no one would suggest this is unworthy of the divine philanthropy, since even Paul, the imitator of the Lord, knew how to handle the word appropriately according to the dispositions of his hearers, becoming milk for infants and solid food for the mature. But when no purpose is achieved by such a use of language, then to contrive that God recites such words to himself, when there is no one who needs the meaning conveyed by such sounds, I do not know how such a supposition is not both ridiculous 2.1.260 and blasphemous. Therefore, the voice of God is neither Hebrew nor uttered in any other form of those customarily used among the nations; but as many words of God as were written by Moses or the prophets are indications of the divine will, shining in different ways upon the pure and 2.1.261 ruling faculty of the saints according to the worthiness of those who partake of grace. Therefore, Moses spoke as he was naturally constituted and had been educated, but he attributed these utterances to God, as has been said many times, on account of the childishness of those just being brought to the knowledge of God, for a clear presentation of the divine will and so that he might make his hearers more obedient, being swayed by the trustworthiness of the one who had spoken. 2.1.262 But Eunomius says not, he who brings such reproaches against us, the 20heir and advocate of lawful custom20—for having transformed the insult into a compliment, I will welcome him with his own words. But 20he maintains that Moses himself testifies20 that 20the use both of things named and of names was bestowed upon men by the one who created nature, and that the designation of the things given is superior to the generation of those who use them20, having said all this verbatim. 2.1.263 If, then, he possesses some private Moses, from whom he learns these wise things, and drawing from there he is confident in such words, that 20God legislates20, as he says, 20the sayings of men20, thus commanding and otherwise forbidding that words be applied to things, let him use this nonsense as he sees fit, having his secret Moses as an ally. But if there is only one Moses, whose scripture is a common lesson for those who have been instructed in the divine word, we will accept the condemnation, if we are refuted by the 2.1.264 words of Moses. Where, then, did he find the law concerning verbs and nouns? Let him set it forth from the very writings. The creation of the world, and the genealogy of the men who followed, and the history of certain events, and the varied legislation concerning both observances in worship and in life—these are the main points of Moses' writing. But if he says there is some legislation of words, let him show the law, and I will be silent; but he would have 2.1.265 nothing to say. For he would not have abandoned the clearer proofs and gone through those things by which he seems more ridiculous than persuasive to his hearers. For to suppose this to be <the> chief point of piety, to attribute the invention of words to God, for whom the whole world and the wonders in it are a small thing for praise, how is it not the utmost folly to neglect the great things and dignify the divine from human ones? He set forth the command for creation, spoken indeed by Moses in a human way, but coming to be in a manner befitting God. 2.1.266 Therefore, this creative will for things that exist by divine power, the precise historian of the Scriptures declares to be a teaching of words, and as if God had said 'Let a word come to be,' or 'Let a statement be formed,' or 'Let this receive such a name,' he brings forward as advocacy for his own words the substantive movement of creation in the divine will, not even knowing this, from his great attention to and experience with the Scriptures, that even an impulse of the mind is often called a voice by 2.1.267 Scripture. And of this Moses himself is a witness, whom he misleads in many ways in this respect

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τίνα ὠφελεῖν μέλλων ἐκ τῆς τοιαύτης φωνῆς; τὸ μὲν γὰρ συνδιατίθεσθαι τῇ τῶν ἀκουόντων δυνάμει τὸν λόγον πρὸς τὸν τῆς ὠφελείας σκοπόν, οὐδὲν ἄν τις ἀνάξιον τῆς θείας εἶναι φιλανθρωπίας ὑποτυπήσειεν, ἐπεὶ καὶ Παῦλος ὁ μιμητὴς τοῦ κυρίου πρὸς τὰς τῶν ἀκουόντων ἕξεις οἶδεν ἁρμοδίως τὸν λόγον μεταχειρίζεσθαι, γάλα τοῖς νηπίοις γινόμενος καὶ στερεὰ τοῖς τελείοις τροφή· τὸ δὲ μηδενὸς κατορθουμένου σκοποῦ διὰ τῆς τοιαύτης τοῦ λόγου χρήσεως ἔπειτα κατασκευάζειν τοιάδε τινὰ ῥήματα τὸν θεὸν ἐφ' ἑαυτοῦ ῥαψῳδεῖν, οὐκ ὄντος τοῦ δεομένου τῆς διὰ τῶν τοιού των φωνῶν σημασίας, οὐκ οἶδα πῶς ἐστι μὴ καταγέλαστον 2.1.260 ἅμα καὶ βλάσφημον τὸ τοιοῦτον οἴεσθαι. οὔτε οὖν Ἑβραία τοῦ θεοῦ ἡ φωνὴ οὔτε καθ' ἕτερόν τινα τύπον τῶν ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσι νενομισμένων προφερομένη· ἀλλ' ὅσοι τοῦ θεοῦ λόγοι παρὰ τοῦ Μωϋσέως ἢ τῶν προφητῶν ἐγράφησαν, ἐν δείξεις εἰσὶ τοῦ θείου θελήματος ἄλλως καὶ ἄλλως κατὰ τὴν ἀξίαν τῶν μετεχόντων τῆς χάριτος τῷ καθαρῷ τε καὶ 2.1.261 ἡγεμονικῷ τῶν ἁγίων ἐλλάμπουσαι. οὐκοῦν ἐφθέγγετο μὲν ὁ Μωϋσῆς ὡς ἐπεφύκει τε καὶ πεπαίδευτο, προσετίθει δὲ τῷ θεῷ τὰς φωνὰς ταύτας καθὼς εἴρηται πολλάκις διὰ τὸ νηπιῶδες τῶν ἄρτι τῇ θεογνωσίᾳ προσαγομένων πρὸς ἐναργῆ τε παράστασιν τοῦ θείου θελήματος καὶ ὡς ἂν εὐπειθεστέρους ἀπεργάσαιτο τοὺς ἀκούοντας τῇ ἀξιοπιστίᾳ τοῦ εἰρηκότος δυσωπουμένους. 2.1.262 Ἀλλ' οὔ φησιν ὁ Εὐνόμιος ὁ τοιαύτας καθ' ἡμῶν τὰς λοιδορίας προφέρων, ὁ τῆς 20ἐνθέσμου συνηθείας κληρονόμος τε καὶ συνήγορος20-ὑπαλλάξας γὰρ τὴν ὕβριν εἰς εὐφημίαν τοῖς ἰδίοις αὐτὸν δεξιώσομαι. ἀλλ' 20αὐτὸν αὐτῷ μαρτυρεῖν τὸν Μωϋσέα20 διϊσχυρίζεται 20παρὰ τοῦ δημιουργήσαντος τὴν φύσιν δεδω ρῆσθαι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις τῶν τε ὀνομαζομένων καὶ τῶν ὀνομάτων τὴν χρῆσιν, καὶ τήν γε τῶν δεδομένων κλῆσιν ἀνωτέραν εἶναι τῆς τῶν χρω μένων γενέσεως20, οὑτωσὶ πάντα κατὰ λέξιν εἰπών. 2.1.263 εἰ μὲν οὖν ἴδιον κέκτηταί τινα Μωϋσέα, παρ' οὗ τὰ σοφὰ ταῦτα διδάσκεται, κἀκεῖθεν ὁρμώμενος τοῖς τοιούτοις ἐπι θαρσεῖ τῶν λόγων, ὅτι 20θεὸς διαθεσμοθετεῖ20, καθὼς οὗτός φησι, 20τῶν ἀνθρώπων τὰς ῥήσεις20, οὑτωσί τε κελεύων καὶ ἑτέρως ἀπαγορεύων τὰς ἐπὶ τῶν πραγμάτων κεῖσθαι φωνάς, κεχρήσθω πρὸς τὸ δοκοῦν τοῖς λήροις, σύμμαχον ἔχων τὸν κρυπτὸν Μωϋσέα. εἰ δὲ μόνος ἐστὶ Μωϋσῆς οὗ ἡ γραφὴ κοινὸν μάθημα τοῖς τὸν θεῖον λόγον πεπαιδευμένοις ἐστί, δεξόμεθα τὴν κατάγνωσιν, εἰ ὑπὸ τῶν 2.1.264 τοῦ Μωϋσέως ἐλεγχόμεθα λόγων. ποῦ τοίνυν τὸν περὶ ῥη μάτων τε καὶ ὀνομάτων εὕρατο νόμον, ἐπ' αὐτῶν ἐκθέσθω τῶν γεγραμμένων. κοσμογένεια καὶ τῶν καθεξῆς ἀνθρώ πων γενεαλογία καὶ πραγμάτων τινῶν ἱστορία καὶ ἡ ποικίλη νομοθεσία περί τε τῶν κατὰ τὴν λατρείαν καὶ τῶν κατὰ τὸν βίον παρατηρημάτων, ταῦτα τῆς Μωϋσέως γραφῆς τὰ κεφάλαια. εἰ δέ φησιν οὗτος εἶναί τινα ῥημάτων νομο θεσίαν, δειξάτω τὸν νόμον, κἀγὼ σιωπήσομαι· ἀλλ' οὐκ ἂν 2.1.265 εἰπεῖν ἔχοι. οὐ γὰρ ἂν τῶν ἐναργεστέρων ἀφέμενος ἀπο δείξεων ἐκεῖνα διεξῄει δι' ὧν καταγέλαστος μᾶλλον ἢ πιθανὸς δοκεῖ τοῖς ἀκούουσι. τὸ γὰρ οἴεσθαι τοῦτο εἶναι <τὸ> τῆς εὐσεβείας κεφάλαιον, τὸ ῥημάτων εὕρεσιν προσ μαρτυρεῖν τῷ θεῷ, ᾧ μικρὸς εἰς εὐφημίαν ὅλος ὁ κόσμος καὶ τὰ ἐν αὐτῷ θαύματα, πῶς οὐ τῆς ἐσχάτης εὐηθείας ἐστὶ τῶν μεγάλων ἀφέμενον ἐκ τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων σεμνύνειν τὸ θεῖον; πρόσταγμα τῆς κτίσεως καθηγήσατο ῥηθὲν μὲν παρὰ τοῦ Μωϋσέως ἀνθρωπικῶς, θεοπρεπῶς δὲ γενόμενον. 2.1.266 τὸ τοίνυν ποιητικὸν τῶν θείᾳ δυνάμει συνεστηκότων θέλημα τοῦτο ῥημάτων διδασκαλίαν ὁ ἀκριβὴς ἐπιΐστωρ τῶν γραφῶν ἀποφαίνεται, καὶ ὥσπερ εἰπόντος τοῦ θεοῦ γενηθήτω ῥῆμα ἢ συστήτω λόγος ἢ τόδε τοιάνδε λαχέτω τὴν κλῆσιν οὗτος εἰς συνηγορίαν προβάλλεται τῶν ἰδίων ῥημάτων τὴν ὑπο στατικὴν τῆς κτίσεως ἐν τῷ θείῳ θελήματι κίνησιν, ὑπὸ πολλῆς προσοχῆς τῶν γραφῶν καὶ ἐμπειρίας οὐδὲ τοῦτο εἰδώς, ὅτι καὶ ὁρμὴ διανοίας φωνὴ πολλάκις παρὰ τῆς 2.1.267 γραφῆς ὀνομάζεται. καὶ τούτου μάρτυς Μωϋσῆς αὐτός, ὃν πολλαχῆ παρασύρων κατὰ τοῦτο τὸ μέρος