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words? But were not all the shorthand writers present the whole time as I dictated against the heresy? Were not your most genuine disciples with me the whole time? When I visited the brotherhoods and spent the night with them in prayer, always speaking and hearing about God without contention, did I not provide accurate proofs of my own mind? How then has the experience of so long a time proved less than such a rotten and feeble suspicion? And who before you should have been a witness of my disposition? The things spoken by us concerning the faith at Chalcedon, often at Heraclea, and formerly at Caesarea in the suburb, were they not all in harmony with us? Were they not all consistent with each other? Except that, as I said, a certain increase from progress is observed in what is said, which is not a change from worse to better, but a completion of what is lacking according to the addition of knowledge. And how do you not consider this, that a father shall not bear the sin of his child, nor shall a son bear the sin of his father, but each shall die in his own sin? But the one slandered by you is neither father nor son to me. For he has been neither my teacher nor my disciple. But if the sins of the parents must become accusations for the children, it is much more just for the things of Arius to become so against his own disciples; and if someone begot Aetius the heretic, the crimes of the son ascend upon the head of the father. But if it is not just for anyone to be accused on account of those things, it is surely much more just for us not to be held accountable for those who are in no way related to us, if indeed they sinned at all, or if anything worthy of condemnation has been written by them. For pardon me for not believing the things said against them, since the experience against me establishes the ease with which the accusers resort to slander. 223.6 For if, being deceived and thinking me to be a partner in the opinion of those who wrote those sayings of Sabellius which they themselves circulate, they came to slander me, not even so were they worthy of pardon, immediately hurling blasphemies before clear proofs and wounding those who had not even spent time with them, not to mention those bound to them in the utmost friendship, and that it is proof of not being led by the Holy Spirit to have false suppositions in themselves. It is necessary to consider many things and to endure many sleepless nights, and with many tears to seek out the truth from God, for one who is about to be cut off from a brother's friendship. For if the rulers of this world, when they are about to condemn one of the malefactors to death, draw the curtains, and call the most experienced to deliberate on the matters before them, and devote much time to it, now seeing the austerity of the law, now being ashamed by the communion of nature, and having groaned much and lamented the necessity, they become known to all as serving the law out of necessity, not inflicting condemnation according to their own pleasure; how much more zeal and care and counsel with many should one who is about to be broken off from the friendship of brothers, confirmed over a long time, be considered worthy? But one letter, and that a doubtful one. For you could not say you had recognized it from the characters of the signature, you who received into your hands not the original, but the copy. From one letter, therefore, and an old one at that. For it is twenty years to the present time since anything was written to that man. And in this time between, I have no such witness of my own purpose and life as those who are now my accusers. 223.7 But the letter is not the cause of the separation, but there is another reason for the division which I am ashamed to speak of, and I have been silent all the time, except that what has now been done makes it necessary for me, for the benefit of the many, to reveal their whole purpose.

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λόγοι; Οὐχὶ δὲ πάντα τὸν χρόνον ὅσοι ταχυγράφοι παρῆσαν ἐμοὶ ὑπαγορεύοντι τὰ πρὸς τὴν αἵρεσιν; Οὐ τῶν σῶν μαθητῶν οἱ γνησιώτατοι πάν τα μοι τὸν χρόνον συνῆσαν; Οὐ τὰς ἀδελφότητας ἐπισκε πτόμενος καὶ διανυκτερεύων αὐταῖς ἐν ταῖς προσευχαῖς, λέγων καὶ ἀκούων ἀεὶ τὰ περὶ Θεοῦ ἀφιλονείκως, οὐκ ἀκριβεῖς παρεῖχον τῆς ἐννοίας ἐμαυτοῦ τὰς ἀποδείξεις; Πῶς οὖν ἡ ἐν τοσούτῳ χρόνῳ πεῖρα ἐλάττων ἐφάνη τῆς οὕτω σαθρᾶς καὶ ἀδρανοῦς ὑπονοίας; Τίνα δὲ ἔδει πρὸ σοῦ μάρτυρα εἶναι τῆς ἐμῆς διαθέσεως; Τὰ ἐπὶ Καλχηδόνος λαληθέντα ἡμῖν περὶ πίστεως, τὰ ἐν Ἡρακλείᾳ πολλάκις, τὰ πρότερον ἐπὶ τῆς Καισαρείας ἐν τῷ προαστείῳ, εἰ μὴ πάντα σύμφωνα παρ' ἡμῶν; Εἰ μὴ πάντα ἀλλήλοις συμβαί νοντα; Ἐκτὸς τοῦ, ὅπερ εἶπον, ἐκ προκοπῆς τινα αὔξησιν ἐπιθεωρεῖσθαι τοῖς λεγομένοις, ὅπερ οὐχὶ μεταβολή ἐστιν ἐκ τοῦ χείρονος πρὸς τὸ βέλτιον, ἀλλὰ συμπλήρωσις τοῦ λείποντος κατὰ τὴν προσθήκην τῆς γνώσεως. Πῶς δὲ κἀκεῖνο οὐκ ἐνθυμῇ ὅτι πατὴρ οὐ λήψεται ἁμαρτίαν παιδός, οὐδὲ υἱὸς λήψεται ἁμαρτίαν πατρός, ἕκαστος ἐν τῇ ἰδίᾳ ἁμαρτίᾳ ἀποθανεῖται; Ἐμοὶ δὲ οὔτε πατὴρ ὁ παρὰ σοὶ δια βαλλόμενος οὔθ' υἱός. Οὔτε γὰρ διδάσκαλός μου γέγονεν οὔτε μαθητής. Εἰ δὲ δεῖ τὰς τῶν γεννησάντων ἁμαρτίας ἐγκλήματα τοῖς τέκνοις γίνεσθαι, πολὺ δικαιότερον τὰ Ἀρείου κατὰ τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ γίνεσθαι· καὶ εἴ τις Ἀέτιον ἐγέννησε τὸν αἱρετικόν, ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν τοῦ πατρὸς ἀνα βαίνει τοῦ παιδὸς τὰ ἐγκλήματα. Εἰ δ' οὐ δίκαιον ἐπ' ἐκεί νοις ἐγκαλεῖσθαί τινα, πολλῷ δή που δικαιότερον ἡμᾶς ἐπὶ τοῖς μηδὲν ἡμῖν προσήκουσι μὴ λόγων ἔχειν εὐθύνας, εἴ γε καὶ ἥμαρτον ὅλως, εἴ τι καὶ γέγραπται αὐτοῖς ἄξιον κατακρίσεως. Συγγνώμη γάρ μοι ἀπιστοῦντι τοῖς κατ' αὐτῶν λεγομένοις, ἐπειδὴ ἡ κατ' ἐμοῦ πεῖρα τὸ πρὸς συκο φαντίαν εὔκολον τῶν κατηγορούντων συνίστησι. 223.6 Καὶ γὰρ εἰ μὲν ἀπατηθέντες καὶ νομίσαντες ἐμὲ κοινωνὸν εἶναι τῆς γνώμης τῶν συγγραψάντων ἐκεῖνα τὰ Σαβελλίου ῥήματα ἅπερ αὐτοὶ περιφέρουσιν, ἐπὶ τὴν κατ' ἐμοῦ διαβολὴν ἦλθον, οὐδ' οὕτω μὲν ἦσαν συγγνώμης ἄξιοι, πρὸ ἐναργῶν ἀποδείξεων εὐθὺς ταῖς βλασφημίαις βάλλοντες καὶ τιτρώσκοντες τοὺς μηδὲ συνδιατρίψαντας, ἵνα μὴ εἴπω ὅτι καὶ τοὺς εἰς τὴν ἄκραν αὐτοῖς φιλίαν συνδεδεμένους, καὶ ὅτι ἀπόδειξις τοῦ μὴ Πνεύματι ἄγεσθαι Ἁγίῳ τὸ ψευδεῖς ἔχειν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς τὰς ὑπολήψεις. Πολλὰ δεῖ μερι μνῆσαι καὶ πολλὰς ἀγρύπνους νύκτας διενεγκεῖν, καὶ μετὰ πολλῶν δακρύων ἐκζητῆσαι παρὰ Θεοῦ τὴν ἀλήθειαν, τὸν μέλλοντα φιλίας ἀδελφοῦ διατέμνεσθαι. Εἰ γὰρ οἱ τοῦ κόσ μου τούτου ἄρχοντες, ὅταν τινὰ τῶν κακούργων θανάτῳ καταδικάζειν μέλλωσιν, ἐφέλκονται τὰ παραπετάσματα, καλοῦσι δὲ τοὺς ἐμπειροτάτους πρὸς τὴν ὑπὲρ τῶν προκει μένων σκέψιν, καὶ πολὺν ἐνσχολάζουσι χρόνον, νῦν μὲν τοῦ νόμου τὸ αὐστηρὸν ὁρῶντες, νῦν δὲ τὴν κοινωνίαν τῆς φύσεως δυσωπούμενοι, καὶ πολλὰ στενάξαντες καὶ τὴν ἀνάγκην ἀπολοφυρόμενοι πάνδημοι πᾶσι γίνονται πρὸς ἀνάγκην ὑπηρετοῦντες τῷ νόμῳ, οὐ κατ' οἰκείαν ἡδονὴν ἐπάγοντες τὴν κατάκρισιν· πόσῳ χρὴ πλείονος σπουδῆς ἄξιον ἡγεῖσθαι καὶ μερίμνης καὶ τῆς μετὰ πλειόνων βουλῆς τὸν μέλλοντα φιλίας ἀδελφῶν ἀπορρήγνυσθαι τῆς ἐν πολλῷ χρόνῳ βεβαιωθείσης; Ἀλλὰ μία ἐπιστολὴ καὶ αὐτὴ ἀμφί βολος. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἂν εἴποις ἐκ τῶν τῆς ὑπογραφῆς συμβόλων αὐτὴν ἐπεγνωκέναι, ὅς γε οὔπω τὴν πρώτως γραφεῖσαν, ἀλλὰ τὴν μεταγραφεῖσαν εἰς χεῖρας ἔλαβεν. Ἐξ ἑνὸς τοίνυν γράμματος καὶ τούτου παλαιοῦ. Εἴκοσι γὰρ ἔτη ἐστὶν εἰς τὸν νῦν χρόνον ἀφ' οὗ γέγραπταί τι πρὸς τὸν ἄνδρα ἐκεῖνον. Ἐν δὲ τῷ μεταξὺ τούτῳ χρόνῳ οὐδένα τοιοῦτον ἔχω μάρ τυρα τῆς ἐμαυτοῦ προαιρέσεως καὶ τοῦ βίου, ὡς τοὺς νῦν ἐφεστῶτάς μοι κατηγόρους. 223.7 Ἀλλ' οὐ γὰρ ἡ ἐπιστολὴ τοῦ χωρισμοῦ αἰτία, ἑτέρα δέ ἐστι τῆς διαστάσεως ἡ ὑπόθεσις ἣν ἐγὼ λέγειν αἰσχύ νομαι, καὶ ἐσίγησα δὲ πάντα τὸν χρόνον, εἰ μὴ τὰ νῦν πεπραγμένα ἀναγκαίαν μοι καθίστη διὰ τὸ τῶν πολλῶν λυσιτελὲς τῆς ὅλης αὐτῶν προαιρέσεως τὴν φανέρωσιν.