162

hunted 2.1.627 by little old women and by eunuchs. But still you must not despair even of his claws. For our argument, judged against his, would be a mere nail-paring, but against you it is so great as to be able to tear off for you the sheath of deceit and show the ugliness hidden in the shell. If for one who contends according to the rules the limit of his labors in the contests is either for his opponent, having completely given up in the face of the struggles, to willingly yield the victory to the one who has prevailed, or to be thrown by three falls according to the athletic law, by which the victor, through the judgment of the umpires, gains the glory of the crown through the clear voice of the herald; since, then, Eunomius, though already twice thrown in the preceding treatises, does not yet concede that truth has the victory over falsehood, but for a third time again takes the field through his treatise against piety, powdered for the contest in the accustomed wrestling-school of falsehood, having strengthened himself for the struggles on behalf of deceit, necessarily now also the argument of truth is roused up through us for the overthrow of falsehood, placing its hopes in the Giver of victory and the President of the games, and at the same time being strengthened by the evil artifice of the opponent's wrestling-tricks. 3.1.2 For we confess without shame that we have neither prepared any argument sharpened by rhetoric for these contests, nor do we put forth the cleverness of dialectical subtlety as an ally against our opponents, which often transforms the truth into a suspicion of falsehood in the eyes of the inexperienced. But the one power of our argument against falsehood is, first, the true Word himself, who becomes the strength of our argument, and then also the rottenness of our opponent's arguments, which is overthrown and 3.1.3 falls by itself. And so that it might become especially clear to all that Eunomius's own labor becomes the material for his own overthrow for those who wrestle against him, I will set before the readers the phantom of his argument (for so I think an argument outside of the truth should be named); and may all you who encounter our labors and watch the present struggle of our argument against our adversary become just umpires of the lawful contest of arguments, so that through your just judgment the argument of piety may be proclaimed in all the theater of the Church, having received from all an uncontested dominion against impiety, being adorned by the three falls of the enemy with the ever-green crown of the saved. 3.1.4 This, then, is the statement set forth in the prooemium of his third treatise against the truth, which is of this sort. 20Preserving20, he says, 20a natural order and abiding by what has been known from above, we do not refuse to call the Son begotten and an offspring, since the begotten substance and the title of Son claim this kind of relationship of names for themselves20. Let the listener carefully apply his mind to this for me: that in calling the only-begotten God both "begotten" and "Son," he refers the cause of these names to 20the natural order20 and calls to witness the knowledge from above for such a concept; so that if he should be found in what follows to contradict what he has set forth before, it may become clear to all that he is overthrown by himself, being refuted by his own words before 3.1.5 our arguments. And let us thus understand the argument through the things said by him. He confesses that the name of Son could in no way be properly applied to the only-begotten God, unless 20the natural20, as he says, 20order20 confirmed the title for the one who was begotten. Therefore, if someone were to take away the natural order from the appellation of Son, he would idly prattle the name, since it is separated from its proper and natural significance. But also his saying that these things are affirmed while 20abiding by what has been known from above20 much more strengthens the pious understanding concerning the appellation of Son, as the God-inspired teaching of the Scriptures which has come to us from above confirms the account of these things. 3.1.6 If these things, then, this

162

παρὰ 2.1.627 τοῖς γραϊδίοις καὶ τοῖς ἐκτομίαις θηρώμενος. πλὴν ἀλλ' οὐκ ἀπελπιστέον σοι καὶ τῶν ὀνύχων ἐκείνου. τὸ γὰρ ἡμέτερον ὡς μὲν πρὸς ἐκεῖνον ὄνυχος μοῖρα κρινόμενον πολλοῦ ἂν εἴη, πρὸς δὲ σὲ τοσοῦτόν ἐστιν, ὅσον ἱκανὸν εἶναί σοι περιρρῆξαι τῆς ἀπάτης τὸ ἔλυτρον καὶ δεῖξαι τὴν ἐγκεκρυμμένην τῷ ὀστράκῳ ἀσχημοσύνην. Εἰ τῷ νομίμως ἀθλοῦντι τῶν ἐν τοῖς ἀγῶσι πόνων ὅρος ἐστὶν ἢ τὸ παντελῶς ἀπειπόντα πρὸς τοὺς πόνους τὸν ἀνταγωνιστὴν ἑκουσίως ἐκστῆναι τῷ κεκρατηκότι τῆς νίκης ἢ τρισὶ πτώμασι κατὰ τὸν ἀθλητικὸν καταβληθῆναι νόμον, δι' ὧν γίνεται τῷ νενικηκότι τῇ κρίσει τῶν βραβευόντων ἡ ἐπὶ τῷ στεφάνῳ δόξα διὰ λαμπροῦ τοῦ κηρύγματος, ἐπεὶ οὖν δὶς ἤδη καταβληθεὶς ἐν τοῖς προλαβοῦσι λόγοις Εὐνό μιος οὔπω συγχωρεῖ τῇ ἀληθείᾳ κατὰ τοῦ ψεύδους ἔχειν τὰ νικητήρια, ἀλλ' ἐκ τρίτου πάλιν κατὰ τῆς εὐσεβείας διὰ τῆς λογογραφίας κονίζεται ἐν τῇ συνήθει παλαίστρᾳ τοῦ ψεύδους εἰς τοὺς ὑπὲρ τῆς ἀπάτης ἀγῶνας ἑαυτὸν ἐπιρ ρώσας, ἀναγκαίως καὶ νῦν δι' ἡμῶν ὁ τῆς ἀληθείας λόγος πρὸς τὴν τοῦ ψεύδους ἀνατροπὴν ἀντεγείρεται, τῷ νικοποιῷ τε καὶ ἀγωνοθέτῃ τῆς νίκης ἀναθεὶς τὰς ἐλπίδας καὶ ἅμα τῇ κακοτεχνίᾳ τῶν τοῦ ἐναντίου παλαισμάτων ἐνδυναμού 3.1.2 μενος. ὁμολογοῦμεν γὰρ ἀνεπαισχύντως ἡμεῖς μήτε τινὰ λόγον διὰ ῥητορικῆς τεθηγμένον ἐπὶ τοὺς ἀγῶνας παρε σκευάσθαι μήτε δεινότητα διαλεκτικῆς ἀγχινοίας εἰς συμ μαχίαν κατὰ τῶν ἀντιτεταγμένων προβάλλεσθαι, ἣ καὶ τὴν ἀλήθειαν πολλάκις εἰς ὑπόνοιαν ψεύδους ἐπὶ τῶν ἀπείρων ἀντιμεθίστησιν. ἀλλὰ μία δύναμις τοῦ ἐν ἡμῖν λόγου κατὰ τοῦ ψεύδους ἐστὶ πρῶτον μὲν αὐτὸς ὁ ἀληθινὸς λόγος, ἰσχὺς τοῦ ἡμετέρου λόγου γινόμενος, ἔπειτα δὲ καὶ ἡ τῶν ἀντι τεταγμένων σαθρότης, αὐτὴ δι' ἑαυτῆς ἀνατρεπομένη καὶ 3.1.3 καταπίπτουσα. ὡς δ' ἂν μάλιστα γένοιτο πᾶσι δῆλον ὅτι αὐτὸς τοῦ Εὐνομίου ὁ πόνος τῆς ἰδίας ἀνατροπῆς ὕλη τοῖς προσπαλαίουσι γίνεται, αὐτὸ προθήσω τοῖς ἐντυγχάνουσι τοῦ λόγου τὸ εἴδωλον (οὕτω γὰρ οἶμαι χρῆναι τὸν ἔξω τῆς ἀληθείας ὀνομάζεσθαι λόγον)· βραβευταὶ δὲ δίκαιοι τῆς νομίμου τῶν λόγων ἀθλήσεως γένοισθε πάντες οἱ τοῖς πό νοις ἡμῶν ἐντυγχάνοντες καὶ θεωροῦντες τὴν γινομένην νῦν τοῦ ἡμετέρου λόγου πρὸς τὸν ἀντίπαλον συμπλοκήν, ὡς ἂν διὰ τῆς δικαίας ὑμῶν ἐπικρίσεως ἀνακηρυχθείη παντὶ τῷ τῆς ἐκκλησίας θεάτρῳ τῆς εὐσεβείας ὁ λόγος, ἀνανταγώ νιστον λαβὼν παρὰ πᾶσι κατὰ τῆς ἀσεβείας τὸ κράτος, διὰ τριῶν τῶν τοῦ ἐχθροῦ πτωμάτων τῷ ἀειθαλεῖ στεφάνῳ τῶν σῳζομένων καλλωπιζόμενος. 3.1.4 Αὕτη τοίνυν ἡ λέξις ἐν προοιμίοις κατὰ τῆς ἀληθείας τοῦ τρίτου προβέβληται λόγου, ἣ τοῦτον ἔχει τὸν τρόπον. 20φυσικήν20, φησί, 20διασῴζοντες τάξιν καὶ τοῖς ἄνω θεν ἐγνωσμένοις ἐμμένοντες γεννητὸν ὄντα τὸν υἱὸν καὶ γέννημα λέγειν οὐ παραιτού μεθα, τῆς γεννηθείσης οὐσίας καὶ τῆς τοῦ υἱοῦ προσηγορίας τὴν τοιαύτην τῶν ὀνομάτων οἰκειουμένης σχέσιν20. τούτῳ μοι δι' ἐπιμελείας ὁ ἀκροατὴς ἐπισχέτω τὸν νοῦν, ὅτι καὶ γεννητὸν καὶ υἱὸν ὀνομάζων τὸν μονογενῆ θεὸν εἰς 20τὴν φυσικὴν τάξιν20 ἀναφέρει τὴν τῶν ὀνομάτων τούτων αἰτίαν καὶ τὴν ἄνωθεν γνῶσιν ἐπὶ τῇ τοιαύτῃ διανοίᾳ μαρτύρεται· ὡς εἴ τι διὰ τῶν ἐφεξῆς εὑρεθείη τοῖς προεκτεθεῖσιν ἐναντιούμενος, φα νερὸν γενέσθαι πᾶσιν ὅτι δι' ἑαυτοῦ ἀνατρέπεται, πρὸ τῶν 3.1.5 ἡμετέρων λόγων διὰ τῶν ἰδίων ἀπελεγχόμενος. οὑτωσὶ δὲ διὰ τῶν παρ' αὐτοῦ ῥηθέντων τὸν λόγον κατανοήσωμεν. ὁμολογεῖ μηδαμῶς ἂν τὸ τοῦ υἱοῦ ὄνομα κυρίως ἐφαρμο σθῆναι τῷ μονογενεῖ θεῷ, μὴ 20τῆς φυσικῆς20, καθώς φησι, 20τάξεως20 βεβαιούσης τῷ γεννηθέντι τὴν κλῆσιν. οὐκοῦν εἴ τις ἀφέλοι φυσικὴν τάξιν ἐπὶ τῆς τοῦ υἱοῦ προσηγορίας, μάτην αὐτῷ ἐπιθρυλήσει τὸ ὄνομα, τῆς κυρίας καὶ κατὰ φύσιν διεζευγμένον ἐμφάσεως. ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ 20τοῖς ἄνω θεν ἐγνωσμένοις ἐμμένοντα20 ταῦτα διαβεβαιοῦσθαι λέγειν πολὺ μᾶλλον κρατύνει τὴν εὐσεβῆ περὶ τῆς τοῦ υἱοῦ προσηγορίας διάνοιαν, ὡς τῆς θεοπνεύστου τῶν γραφῶν δι δασκαλίας τῆς ἄνωθεν γεγενημένης ἡμῖν τὸν περὶ τούτων 3.1.6 βεβαιούσης λόγον. εἰ ταῦτα τοίνυν τοῦτον