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having understood his technical art concerning 20privation20. 2.1.564 But to engage with all his nonsense would be characteristic of Eunomius and those like him, who have undertaken no care for more serious matters. But we shall briefly and summarily run over what has been said, so that none of the culpable points might be omitted, nor any of the vain ones draw out the argument to an unprofitable length. 2.1.565 For, being about to add his technical art concerning privative names, he has promised 20to show the absurdity of our20 20dogmas20, as he himself says, 20an incurable one and a certain feigned and reprehensible piety20. Such, then, is his promise; but what is the refutation of the charges? 20When some said,20 he says, 20that God is unbegotten by a privation of generation, we, in refutation of these, said that neither this term nor the concept is in any way fitting for God.20 2.1.566 Let him show the champion of this argument, if anyone from the time men came to be until now, whether among barbarians or Greeks, is shown to have uttered such a thing, and we shall be silent. But no one of the men who have lived in all time could be convicted of having said such a thing, unless he were mad. For who is so crazed from drunkenness, who is so out of his mind from madness or frenzy, as to say this argument, that for the unbegotten God, generation is according to nature, but having been deprived of what is according to nature, from being formerly begotten, he afterwards became unbegotten? 2.1.567 But these are the tricks of rhetoric, to escape the shame from the refutations in which they are refuted by the substitution of certain persons. So also has he defended himself concerning that Apology, attributing the cause of the title to judges and accusers, though unable to show any accusers, or trial, or court. And now, as if correcting someone else's folly, he says he has come 20under the necessity20 2.1.568 20of speaking thus20. This is the refutation 20of the incurable20 of our 20absurdity and of the feigned and reprehensible piety20. But he says that we, 20being at a loss20, 20do not know what to do with the present situation and, concealing our difficulty, from his words slanderously assign him to the wisdom of the world, while we ourselves appropriate the teaching of the Holy 2.1.569 Spirit20. This is another dream, to think that he possesses so much of the external wisdom as to seem formidable to Basil for this reason. In this way some people have often imagined themselves to be sharing a throne with kings and of the higher dignity, with the deluded vision of dreams implanting this opinion 2.1.570 from their waking desire. He says that Basil, not knowing what to make of what had been said, 2.1.570 slanders him for the wisdom of the world. However, he would have greatly valued such a slander, to be thought formidable for the abundance of his arguments even to any ordinary person, let alone to Basil and to any of those like him, 2.1.571 if indeed there is or ever was anyone like him. But I shall pass over all the intervening discourse—if his slavish abuse and artless jests, through which he thinks to run down our words, can be called a discourse—considering it loathsome and unpleasant for our own discourse to be stuffed with so much filth, just as those who are disgusted by swollen and foul-smelling ulcers and cannot bear the sight of those whose surface has been disfigured by warts and calluses from some plethoric bad humor. But having set forth his meaning in a few words, I will run past the great stench of what he has said. For the time being, my discourse will be conducted with freedom, paying no attention to tearing apart spitefully any of the things said. 2.1.572 Every word, that is truly a word, is a sound signifying certain movements of thought. And every activity and movement of a sound mind looks to the knowledge and contemplation of existing things, as far as is possible. The nature of existing things is divided in two, being separated into the intelligible and the sensible; but of the things that appear according to sense, because of their accessibility

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περὶ τῆς 20στερήσεως20 αὐτοῦ τεχνολογίαν κατανοή 2.1.564 σαντας. ἀλλὰ τὸ μὲν πάσῃ τῇ φλυαρίᾳ συμπλέκεσθαι αὐτοῦ ἂν εἴη τοῦ Εὐνομίου καὶ τῶν κατ' αὐτὸν τῶν μηδε μίαν πρὸς τὰ σπουδαιότερα τῶν πραγμάτων ἀναδεδεγμένων φροντίδα. ἡμεῖς δὲ διὰ συντομίας ἐπὶ κεφαλαίῳ τοῖς εἰρη μένοις ἐπιδραμούμεθα, ὡς ἂν μήτε τι τῶν ὑπαιτίων παρα λειφθείη μήτε τι τῶν ματαίων εἰς ἀνόνητον μῆκος προαγάγοι τὸν λόγον. 2.1.565 Μέλλων γὰρ προσθήσειν τὴν περὶ τῶν στερητικῶν ὀνομάτων τεχνολογίαν ἐπήγγελται 20δείξειν τῶν20 ἡμετέ ρων 20δογμάτων ἀτοπίαν20, ὡς αὐτός φησιν, 20ἀνήκε στον καὶ εὐλάβειάν τινα προσποίητον καὶ ἐπί ληπτον20. ἡ μὲν οὖν ὑπόσχεσις αὕτη· ὁ δὲ τῶν ἐγκλη μάτων ἔλεγχος τίς; 20εἰπόντων20, φησί, 20τινῶν στερήσει γεννήσεως εἶναι τὸν θεὸν ἀγέννητον, ἡμεῖς ἐπ' ἐλέγχῳ τούτων μηδαμῶς ἁρμόζειν τῷ θεῷ μήτε τὴν φωνὴν ταύτην μήτε τὴν ἔννοιαν εἴπο 2.1.566 μεν20. δειξάτω τὸν προστάτην τοῦ λόγου εἴ τις τῶν ἀφ' οὗ γεγόνασιν ἄνθρωποι μέχρι τοῦ νῦν εἴτε παρὰ βαρβάροις εἴτε παρ' Ἕλλησι τὸ τοιοῦτον παραφθεγξάμενος δείκνυται, καὶ ἡμεῖς σιωπήσομεν. ἀλλ' οὐκ ἂν ἐλεγχθείη τῶν ἐν παντὶ χρόνῳ γεγενημένων ἀνθρώπων οὐδεὶς τὸ τοιοῦτον εἰπὼν πλὴν εἴ τις μαίνοιτο. τίς γὰρ οὕτως ἐκ μέθης παράφορος, τίς οὕτως ὑπὸ μανίας ἢ φρενίτιδος ἐξεστηκὼς τὴν διάνοιαν, ὡς τοῦτον εἰπεῖν τὸν λόγον, ὅτι τῷ ἀγεννήτῳ θεῷ κατὰ φύσιν μὲν ἐστὶν ἡ γέννησις, στερηθεὶς δὲ τοῦ κατὰ φύσιν ἐκ γεννητοῦ τοῦ πρόσθεν γέγονε μετὰ ταῦτα 2.1.567 ἀγέννητος; ἀλλὰ ταῦτα τῆς ῥητορικῆς τὰ τεχνάσματα, τὸ ἐν οἷς ἐλέγχονται προσώπων τινῶν ὑποβολαῖς τὴν ἐκ τῶν ἐλέγχων αἰσχύνην διαδιδράσκειν. οὕτω καὶ περὶ τῆς ἀπο λογίας ἐκείνης ἀπολελόγηται, δικασταῖς καὶ κατηγόροις ἀνατιθεὶς τῆς ἐπιγραφῆς τὴν αἰτίαν, οὐ κατηγόρους, οὐ κρίσιν, οὐ δικαστήριον ἐπιδεῖξαι δυνάμενος. καὶ νῦν ὡς ἀλλοτρίαν μωρίαν ἐπανορθούμενος 20εἰς ἀνάγκην20 φησὶ 2.1.568 20τοῦ οὕτως εἰπεῖν ἐληλυθέναι20. οὗτος ὁ ἔλεγ χος 20τῆς ἀνηκέστου20 ἡμῶν 20ἀτοπίας καὶ τῆς προσ ποιήτου καὶ ἐπιλήπτου εὐλαβείας20. ἀλλ' 20ἀπο ροῦντας20 ἡμᾶς φησιν 20οὐκ ἔχειν ὅ τι χρησόμεθα τοῖς παροῦσι καὶ τὴν ἀπορίαν ἐπικρυπτομένους ἐκεῖνον μὲν ἐκ τῶν ῥημάτων εἰς τὴν τοῦ κόσμου διαβάλλειν σοφίαν, αὐτοὺς δὲ τὴν τοῦ ἁγίου 2.1.569 πνεύματος οἰκειοῦσθαι διδασκαλίαν20. ἄλλος ὄνει ρος οὗτος, τοσοῦτον ἑαυτῷ προσεῖναι τῆς ἔξω σοφίας οἴεσθαι, ὡς φοβερὸν Βασιλείῳ διὰ τοῦτο δοκεῖν. οὕτω τινὲς καὶ βασιλεῦσιν ὁμόθρονοι καὶ τῆς ὑψηλοτέρας ἀξίας εἶναι πολλάκις ἑαυτοὺς ἐφαντάσθησαν, τῆς ἠπατημένης τῶν ἐνυ πνίων ὄψεως ἐκ τῆς καθ' ὕπαρ ἐπιθυμίας τὴν περὶ τούτου 2.1.570 δόκησιν ἐντιθείσης. οὐκ ἔχοντά φησιν Βασίλειον, ὅ τι τοῖς 2.1.570 εἰρημένοις χρήσεται, διαβάλλειν αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τῇ τοῦ κόσμου σοφίᾳ. πολλοῦ μέντοι τὴν τοιαύτην ἂν διαβολὴν ἐτιμήσατο, τὸ φοβερὸς νομισθῆναι τῇ περιουσίᾳ τῶν λόγων καὶ τῶν ἐπιτυχόντων τινί, μή τί γε Βασιλείῳ καί τινι τῶν κατ' 2.1.571 αὐτόν, εἴπερ τις ὅλως ἐστὶ κατ' αὐτὸν ἢ ἐγένετο. ἀλλὰ τὸν μὲν διὰ μέσου λόγον, εἴπερ λόγος ἐστὶν ἡ ἀνδραποδώδης αὐτοῦ λοιδορία καὶ τὰ ἄμουσα σκώμματα δι' ὧν κατα τρέχειν τῶν ἡμετέρων οἴεται, πάντα παρήσω, βδελυκτόν τε καὶ ἀηδὲς ποιούμενος τοσούτοις μολύσμασι τὸν ἡμέτερον ἐμφορύνεσθαι λόγον, ὥσπερ οἱ τὰ ὀχθώδη τε καὶ ὀδωδότα τῶν ἑλκῶν μυσαττόμενοι καὶ δυσανασχετοῦντες τὴν θέαν τῶν ἀπὸ πληθωρικῆς τινος βαρυχυμίας δι' ἀκροχορδόνων καὶ ἥλων ἀλλοιωθέντων τὴν ἐπιφάνειαν. τὸν δὲ νοῦν αὐτοῦ δι' ὀλίγων ἐκθέμενος τὴν πολλὴν τῶν εἰρημένων παραδραμοῦμαι δυσω δίαν. ἔσται δέ μοι τέως κατ' ἐλευθερίαν ὁ λόγος διεξα γόμενος, οὐδὲν πρὸς τὸ ἐπηρεαστικῶς σπαράσσειν τι τῶν λεγομένων ἐπιστρεφόμενος. 2.1.572 Πᾶς λόγος ὅ γε ἀληθῶς λόγος σημαντική τίς ἐστι τῶν κατ' ἔννοιαν κινημάτων φωνή. πᾶσα δὲ τῆς ὑγιοῦς διανοίας ἐνέργειά τε καὶ κίνησις πρὸς τὴν τῶν ὄντων γνῶσίν τε καὶ θεωρίαν, ὡς ἂν οἷόν τε ᾖ, βλέπει. διχῆ δὲ μεμέ ρισται τῶν ὄντων ἡ φύσις εἴς τε τὸ νοητὸν καὶ τὸ αἰσθητὸν διαιρουμένη· ἀλλὰ τῶν μὲν κατ' αἴσθησιν φαινομένων διὰ τὸ πρόχειρον