125

But he himself is so far from daring to say such things, that even at the beginning of his discourses he not only promises to innovate nothing, but also to contend earnestly for the Church of God, displaying a zeal befitting a philosopher against those reared on perverse doctrines, from which he also gave some the suspicion that he was making some account of the truth, and this while struggling in his hypocrisy towards the heterodox against those who live piously. Therefore no one will justly accuse us for defending them and for examining and correcting to the best of our ability the things said by him against them, since the struggle of his writings does not appear to him to be directed simply against them, or against them as living dissolutely or having something in their own lives not harmonious, but the opposition is clearly against the very piety venerated by them, or rather against the divine dogmas of the Church of God themselves, as has been previously shown, and the traditions that have prevailed in it from of old and the writings of the saints, for which we are ready to offer not only such words as we may be able, but in addition to these also our souls, if need be; and for a reward for these words and this purpose we seek neither from men, who can only give praise in such matters, for we do not look to this, nor from God; for a reward is not owed to those who are paying a debt. This, then, the inexorability of the obligation, also imposes the necessity of writing. Having long since abandoned the study and ambition of rhetoric, it is nothing if I do not compose these words with art, nor show the book to be a rose-garden (p. 572), or a lyre or a trumpet, the latter uttering something melodious and clear, the former by its rhythmical composition and the variation of its figures, through various strikings of the tone, blending one harmonious melody and through all things beautifying the discourse. For Attic graces and beauties of words and parallelisms, like flowers, adorn the meadow of discourses; if I should not be able to make use of them, though by nature I desire to speak beautifully, this too would be a clear proof that we have come to speak out of necessity, but not for display. But as for the meaning underlying the words, this I would say is the first beauty, which is also for the soul to look, as far as is possible, towards God and the truth; for from there come the beautiful things after this for it, even if there is something more venerable than this in another way.

But I think it proper before the particular refutations to make this clear: for what reason this man with the greatest possible zeal has undertaken to declare the deifying grace of the Spirit to be created, having set this up for himself as the subject of his writing, although he himself has agreed, even if unwillingly, that such grace is called divinity and self-divinity and divine-principality by the saints? For what reason, then, is he not persuaded to say that the grace of the Spirit is uncreated and declares those who are persuaded to be impious and moves every stone, as the saying goes, to show to all that this is created, saying that it is a natural imitation and a definite state of the rational nature, and seen by sense with sense? He gratifies the Latins of the same race as much as he can, deceitfully and at the same time violently drawing us towards their way of thinking. For when we hear that the Spirit is given from the Son and poured out upon us through the Son, and then also the great Basil saying, 'God poured out the Spirit upon us richly through (p. 574) his Son; he poured out, he did not create, he bestowed, he did not make, he gave, he did not fashion', but we are persuaded that the grace is created, what shall we say is being given and bestowed and poured out through the Son? Not that which works the grace, if we were to say that that alone is without beginning, but that every energy of his is created, just as this new theologian claims? Is it not

125

Ἀλλά τοσοῦτον ἀπέχει τοῦ τοιαῦτα φάναι τολμᾶς αὐτός, ὥστε καί τῶν λόγων ἀρχόμενος οὐ μόνον ἐπαγγέλλεται καινοτομήσειν οὐθέν, ἀλά καί τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ Ἐκκλησίας ὑπεραγωνιεῖσθαι, φιλοσόφῳ πρέποντα ζῆλον κατά τῶν ἐνδιαστρόφοις δόγμασιν ἐντεθραμμένων ἐπιδειξάμενος, ἀφ᾿ οὗ καί τισιν ἔδωκεν ὑπόνοιαν λόγον τινα ποιεῖσθαι τῆς ἀληθείας, καί ταῦτ᾿ ἐν τῇ πρός τούς ἑτεροδόξους ὑποκρίσει κατά τῶν εὐσεβῶς ζώντων ἀγωνιζόμενος. Οὐκοῦν οὐδείς ἡμῖν ἐγκαλέσει δικαίως ὑπέρ αὐτῶν ἀπολογουμένοις καί τά πρός ἐκείνου κατ᾿ αὐτῶν εἰρημένα πρός δύναμιν ἐξετάζουσί τε καί διευθύνουσιν, ἐπεί μηδέ πρός ἐκείνους ἁπλῶς αὐτῷ φαίνται τείνων ὁ τῶν συγγραμμάτων ἀγών, ἤ κατ᾿ ἐκείνων ὤν ὡς ἀνειμένως ζώντων ἤ τι περί τῶν σφῶν αὐτῶν βίον ἐχόντων οὐκ ἐμμελῶς, ἀλλά σαφῶς πρός αὐτήν τήν ὑπ᾿ αὐτῶν πρσεβευομένην εὐσέβειάν ἐστιν ἡ ἀντίθεσις, μᾶλλον δέ πρός αὐτά τά θεῖα τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ Ἐκκλησίας, καθά προαποδέδεικται, δόγματα καί τάς ἐκ παλαιοῦ κεκρατηκυίας ἐπ᾿ αὐτῆς παραδόσεις καί τά τῶν ἁγίων συγγράμματα, ὑπέρ ὧν ἡμεῖς οὐ λόγους μόνον, ὁποίους ἄν οἷοί τε ὦμεν, ἕτοιμοι προέσθαι, πρός δέ τούτοις καί τάς ἡμετέρας, εἰ δεήσει, ψυχάς˙ μισθόν δέ τῶν λόγων τούτων καί τῆς προθέσεως οὔτε παρ᾿ ἀνθρώπων ζητοῦμεν, ὅν ἔχουσι διδόναι μόνον ἐπί τῶν τοιούτων τόν ἔπαινον, οὐδέ γάρ πρός τοῦτον ὁρῶμεν, οὔτε παρά Θεοῦ˙ μισθός γάρ ἀποδιδοῦσιν οὐ χρεωστεῖται. Τοῦτο μέν οὖν καί ἀνάγκην ἐπιτίθησι γράφειν, τό τῆς ὀφειλῆς ἀπαραίτητον. Ἐκ πολλοῦ μέντοι τῆς περί λόγους μελέτης καί φιλοτιμίας ἀφέμενος, οὐδέν οἷον εἰ μή σύν τέχνῃ τούτους ποιοῦμαι, μηδέ ροδωνιάν (σελ. 572) ἀποδείκνυμι τό βιβλίον, ἤ λύραν ἤ σάλπιγγα, τοῦτο μέν εὔηχόν τι φθεγγόμενος καί τορόν, ἐκεῖνο δ᾿ ὑπό τῆς εὐρύθμου συνθήκης καί τῆς τῶν σχημάτων ὑπαλλαγῆς διά ποικίλων τῶν τοῦ τόνου κρουμάτων μίαν ἁρμονίαν ἐμμελῆ κεραννύς καί διά πάντων ὡραΐζων τόν λόγον. Ἀττικαί γάρ χάριτες καί ὀνομάτων κάλλη καί παρισότητες, οἷον ἄνθη τῶν λειμῶνα τῶν λόγων καταγλαΐζουσιν˙ αἷς εἰ μή καταχρῆσθαι δυναίμην, καίτοι καλληρρομονεῖν ἐφίεσθαι πεφυκώς, ἐναργές ἄν εἴη καί τοῦτο δεῖγμα τοῦ πρός ἀνάγκην, ἀλλά μή πρός ἐπίδειξιν ἡμᾶς ἐπί τό λέγειν ἀφῖχθαι. Τῆς γε μήν ἐναποκειμένης διανοίας τοῖς ρήμασι τοῦτ᾿ ἄν φαίην ἐγώ πρῶτον κάλλος, ὅ καί ψυχῆς ἐφ᾿ ὅσον οἷόν τε πρός τόν Θεόν καί τήν ἀλήθειαν βλέπειν˙ ἐκεῖθεν γάρ αὐτῇ τά μετά τοῦτο καλά, κἄν ἦ τι τούτου πρεσβύτερον τρόπον ἕτερον.

Προσῆκον δ᾿ εἶναι νομίζω πρό τῶν κατά μέρος ἐλέγχων ἐκεῖνο ποιῆσαι δῆλον˙ τίνος ἕνεκεν οὗτος τήν τοῦ Πνεύματος θεοποιόν χάριν κτιστήν ἀποφῆναι διά πλείστης ὅσης σπουδῆς ἐποιήσατο, τοῦτ᾿ αὐτός ἑαυτῷ τοῦ λογογραφεῖν ὑπόθεσιν ἐνστησάμενος, καίτοι συνθέμενος καί αὐτός, εἰ καί μή ἑκών εἶναι, θεότητα καί αὐτοθεότητα καί θεαρχίαν ὑπό τῶν ἁγίων τήν τοιαύτην προσειρῆσθαι χάριν; Τίνος οὖν χάριν τήν τοῦ Πνεύματος χάριν ἄκτιστον αὐτός τε φάναι οὐ πείθεται καί τούς πειθομένους δυσεβεῖς ἀποφαίνεται καί πάντα λίθον, τό τοῦ λόγου, κινεῖ πᾶσι ταύτην ὑποδεῖξαι κτιστήν, μίμησιν αὐτήν εἶναι φυσικήν λέγων καί τῆς λογικῆς φύσεως ἕξιν ὡρισμένην τε καί ὁρωμένην αἰσθήσει ᾗ αἰσθήσει; Τοῖς ὁμοφύλοις Λατίνοις ᾗ δυνάμεως ἔχει χαρίζεται, πρός τό ἐκείνων φρόνημα δολίως ἅμα καί βιαίως ἡμᾶς ὑφελκόμενος. Ὅταν γάρ ἀκούσωμεν ἐκ τοῦ Υἱοῦ διδόμενον τό Πνεῦμα καί δι᾿ Υἱοῦ ἐφ᾿ ἡμᾶς προχεόμενον, εἶτα καί τοῦ μεγάλου Βασιλείου λέγοντος, «ἐξέχεεν ἐφ᾿ ἡμᾶς ὁ Θεός τό Πνεῦμα πλουσίως διά (σελ. 574) τοῦ Υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ˙ ἐξέχεεν οὐκ ἔκτισεν, ἐχαρίσατο οὐκ ἐδημιούργησεν, ἔδωκεν οὐκ ἐποίησεν», ὦμεν δ᾿ ἀναπεπεισμένοι κτιστήν τήν χάριν εἶναι, τί ἐροῦμεν δίδοσθαι καί χαρίζεσθαι καί προχεῖσθαι διά τοῦ Υἱοῦ; Οὐκ αὐτό τό τήν χάριν ἐνεργοῦν, εἶπερ ἐκεῖνο μόνον ἄναρχον εἶναι φαῖμεν, πᾶσαν δέ ἐνέργειαν αὐτοῦ κτιστήν, καθάπερ ὁ νέος οὗτος ἰσχυρίζεται θεολόγος; Ἆρ᾿