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I say this not only following the reports of the many, but also having been taught by my own experience in many other things and especially now, in the inexpressible wickedness of our enemies, which, flowing like an evil stream against our life, you skillfully diverted, having dispersed this heavy inflammation of our heart by pouring on consoling words. For I, looking at the successive and varied attack of our enemies against us, thought it necessary to be silent and to accept peacefully the things brought against us, and not to speak against those armed with falsehood, this evil weapon which often thrusts its point even through truth. But you, doing well, urged me not to betray the truth, but to refute the slanderers, so that many might not be harmed by falsehood prevailing over the truth. 189.2 Therefore it seemed to me that those who have taken up unprovoked hatred against us were doing something similar to the Aesopian fable. For just as he made the wolf bring certain charges against the lamb, pretending to be ashamed, as it were, of seeming to destroy without just cause one who had done no prior harm, and while the lamb easily refuted every charge brought by slander, the wolf did not in the least give up his attack, but though defeated by just arguments, he conquered with his teeth; so also those for whom hatred against us has been zealously pursued as something good, perhaps blushing at seeming to hate without cause, they fabricate causes and charges against us and do not persist in any of their statements to the end, but now this, and after a little, another, and again they say something else is the cause of their hostility against us. But their wickedness rests on nothing, but when they are shaken off from this charge, they take refuge in another, and from that one they again seize upon another; and even if all the charges are refuted, they do not cease from hating. They accuse us of worshiping three gods, and they fill the ears of the multitude, and they do not cease from plausibly constructing this slander. But the truth fights for us, and both in public to all and in private to those we meet with, we show that everyone who says there are three gods has been anathematized by us and is not even judged to be a Christian. But when they hear this, Sabellius is ready at hand for them against us, and the disease from him is rumored to be in our doctrine. Again, against this too, we put forward our usual weapon, the truth, showing that we shudder at such a heresy equally with Judaism. 189.3 What then? After so many attempts, have they grown weary and kept quiet? That is not so. But they charge us with innovation, composing the charge against us thus: of confessing three hypostases; they accuse us of saying one goodness and one power and one divinity. And they say this is not outside the truth; for we do say it. But bringing this as a charge, they allege that their custom does not have this and Scripture is not in agreement. What then is our response to this? We do not think it is right to make the prevailing custom among them a law and rule of right reason. For if custom is strong for a proof of correctness, it is certainly possible for us also to put forward in opposition the prevailing custom among us. But if they reject this one, neither must we by any means follow them. Therefore let the divinely inspired Scripture arbitrate for us, and with whomever the doctrines may be found to be in harmony with the divine words, to them will the vote of truth certainly come. What then is the charge? For two things at the same time have been brought forward in the accusation against us: one, the dividing of the hypostases, and the other, the no longer counting any of the divinely fitting names in the plural, but, as has been said before, to declare monadically one goodness and power and divinity and all such things. Now, with regard to the division of the hypostases, those who teach a difference of substances concerning the divine nature would not be opposed. For it is not likely

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λέγω οὐ μόνον ταῖς τῶν πολλῶν φήμαις ἑπόμενος, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῇ κατ' ἐμαυτὸν διδαχθεὶς πείρᾳ ἐν πολλοῖς τε ἄλλοις καὶ διαφερόντως νῦν, ἐν τῇ τῶν ἐχθρῶν ἡμῶν ἀνεκδιηγήτῳ κακίᾳ, ἣν ῥεύ ματος πονηροῦ δίκην κατὰ τῆς ζωῆς ἡμῶν ἐπιρρυεῖσαν εὐμηχάνως διέχεας, τὴν βαρεῖαν ταύτην φλεγμονὴν τῆς καρδίας ἡμῶν τῇ ἐπαντλήσει τῶν παρηγορικῶν λόγων διαφορήσας. Ἐγὼ γὰρ πρὸς τὴν ἐπάλληλον τῶν ἐχθρῶν ἡμῶν καὶ ποικίλην καθ' ἡμῶν ἐπιχείρησιν ἀπο βλέπων, σιωπᾶν ᾤμην δεῖν καὶ δέχεσθαι καθ' ἡσυχίαν τὰ ἐπαγόμενα, μηδὲ ἀντερεῖν τοῖς καθωπλισμένοις τῷ ψεύδει, τῷ πονηρῷ τούτῳ ὅπλῳ τῷ καὶ διὰ τῆς ἀληθείας πολλάκις τὴν ἀκμὴν εἰσωθοῦντι. Σὺ δὲ καλῶς ποιῶν μὴ καταπροδιδόναι τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἐνεκελεύου, ἀλλὰ διελέγχειν τοὺς συκοφάντας, ὡς ἂν μὴ πολλοὶ παραβλαβεῖεν κατευη μεροῦντος τῆς ἀληθείας τοῦ ψεύδους. 189.2 Ἔδοξαν οὖν μοι παραπλήσιόν τι ποιεῖν τῷ Αἰσω πείῳ μύθῳ οἱ τὸ ἀπροφάσιστον καθ' ἡμῶν ἀναλαβόντες μῖσος. Ὡς γὰρ ἐκεῖνος ἐγκλήματά τινα τῷ ἀρνίῳ τὸν λύκον προφέρειν ἐποίησεν, αἰσχυνόμενον δῆθεν τὸ δοκεῖν ἄνευ δικαίας προφάσεως ἀναιρεῖν τὸν μηδὲν προλυπή σαντα, τοῦ δὲ ἀρνὸς πᾶσαν τὴν ἐκ συκοφαντίας ἐπαγο μένην αἰτίαν εὐχερῶς διαλύοντος, μηδὲν μᾶλλον ὑφίεσθαι τῆς ὁρμῆς τὸν λύκον, ἀλλὰ τοῖς μὲν δικαίοις ἡττᾶσθαι, τοῖς δὲ ὀδοῦσι νικᾶν· οὕτως οἷς τὸ καθ' ἡμῶν μῖσος ὥς τι τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἐσπουδάσθη, ἐρυθριῶντες τάχα τὸ δοκεῖν ἄνευ αἰτίας μισεῖν, αἰτίας πλάσσουσι καθ' ἡμῶν καὶ ἐγκλήματα καὶ οὐδενὶ τῶν λεγομένων μέχρι παντὸς ἐπιμέ νουσιν, ἀλλὰ νῦν μὲν τοῦτο, μετ' ὀλίγον δὲ ἄλλο, καὶ αὖθις ἕτερον τῆς καθ' ἡμῶν δυσμενείας τὸ αἴτιον λέγουσι. Βέβηκε δὲ αὐτοῖς ἐπ' οὐδενὸς ἡ κακία, ἀλλ' ὅταν τούτου τοῦ ἐγκλήματος ἀποσεισθῶσιν, ἑτέρῳ προσφύονται, καὶ ἀπ' ἐκείνου πάλιν καταλαμβάνουσιν ἕτερον· κἂν πάντα διαλυθῇ τὰ ἐγκλήματα, τοῦ μισεῖν οὐκ ἀφίστανται. Τρεῖς θεοὺς πρεσβεύεσθαι παρ' ἡμῶν αἰτιῶνται καὶ περιηχοῦσι τὰς ἀκοὰς τῶν πολλῶν καὶ πιθανῶς κατασκευάζοντες τὴν διαβολὴν ταύτην οὐ παύονται. Ἀλλ' ὑπερμάχεται ἡμῶν ἡ ἀλήθεια, καὶ ἐν κοινῷ πρὸς πάντας καὶ ἰδίᾳ πρὸς τοὺς ἐντυγχάνοντας δεικνύντων ἡμῶν ὅτι ἀνατεθεμάτισται παρ' ἡμῶν πᾶς ὁ τρεῖς λέγων θεοὺς καὶ οὐδὲ χριστιανὸς εἶναι κρίνεται. Ἀλλ' ὅταν τοῦτο ἀκούσωσι, πρόχειρος αὐτοῖς καθ' ἡμῶν ὁ Σαβέλλιος, καὶ ἡ ἐξ ἐκείνου νόσος ἐπιθρυλεῖται τῷ ἡμετέρῳ λόγῳ. Πάλιν καὶ πρὸς τοῦτο ἡμεῖς τὸ σύνηθες ὅπλον, τὴν ἀλήθειαν, προβαλλόμεθα δεικνύντες ὅτι ἐπίσης τῷ Ἰουδαϊσμῷ καὶ τὴν τοιαύτην αἵρεσιν φρίττομεν. 189.3 Τί οὖν; Ἆρα μετὰ τοσαύτας ἐγχειρήσεις ἀποκα μόντες ἡσύχασαν; Οὐκ ἔστι ταῦτα. Ἀλλὰ καινοτομίαν ἡμῖν προφέρουσιν, οὑτωσὶ τὸ ἔγκλημα καθ' ἡμῶν συντι θέντες τρεῖς ὑποστάσεις ὁμολογούντων· μίαν ἀγαθότητα καὶ μίαν δύναμιν καὶ μίαν θεότητα λέγειν ἡμᾶς αἰτιῶνται. Καὶ οὐκ ἔξω τοῦτο τῆς ἀληθείας φασί· λέγομεν γάρ. Ἀλλ' ἐγκαλοῦντες τοῦτο προφέρουσιν ὅτι ἡ συνήθεια αὐτῶν τοῦτο οὐκ ἔχει καὶ ἡ Γραφὴ οὐ συντίθεται. Τί οὖν καὶ πρὸς τοῦτο ἡμεῖς; Οὐ νομίζομεν δίκαιον εἶναι τὴν παρ' αὐτοῖς ἐπικρατοῦσαν συνήθειαν νόμον καὶ κανόνα τοῦ ὀρθοῦ ποιεῖσθαι λόγου. Εἰ γὰρ ἰσχυρόν ἐστιν εἰς ἀπόδειξιν ὀρθότητος ἡ συνήθεια, ἔξεστι καὶ ἡμῖν πάντως ἀντιπρο βάλλεσθαι τὴν παρ' ἡμῖν ἐπικρατοῦσαν συνήθειαν. Εἰ δὲ παραγράφονται ταύτην ἐκεῖνοι, οὐδὲ ἡμῖν πάντως ἀκο λουθητέον ἐκείνοις. Οὐκοῦν ἡ θεόπνευστος ἡμῖν διαιτη σάτω Γραφή, καὶ παρ' οἷς ἂν εὑρεθῇ τὰ δόγματα συνῳδὰ τοῖς θείοις λόγοις, ἐπὶ τούτους ἥξει πάντως τῆς ἀληθείας ἡ ψῆφος. Τί οὖν ἐστι τὸ ἔγκλημα; ∆ύο γὰρ κατὰ ταὐτὸν ἐν τῇ κατηγορίᾳ τῇ καθ' ἡμῶν προενήνεκται· ἓν μὲν τὸ διαιρεῖν τὰς ὑποστάσεις, ἕτερον δὲ τὸ μηκέτι μηδὲν τῶν θεοπρεπῶν ὀνομάτων πληθυντικῶς ἀριθμεῖν, ἀλλὰ μίαν, καθὼς προείρηται, τὴν ἀγαθότητα καὶ τὴν δύναμιν καὶ τὴν θεότητα καὶ πάντα τὰ τοιαῦτα μοναδικῶς ἐξαγγέλλειν. Πρὸς μὲν οὖν τὴν διαίρεσιν τῶν ὑποστάσεων οὐκ ἂν ἔχοιεν ἀλλοτρίως οἱ τὴν ἑτερότητα τῶν οὐσιῶν ἐπὶ τῆς θείας δογματίζοντες φύσεως. Οὐ γὰρ εἰκός ἐστι