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they are forced to confess only different persons, and in avoiding this they are found saying three hypostases, not escaping the evil of Sabellius, who himself in many places, confusing the concept, attempts to divide the persons, saying that the same hypostasis is transformed according to the need that arises at each moment. 236.7 And concerning what you asked, how intermediate and indifferent things are managed for us, whether by some automatic chance, or by the just providence of God, we say this: that health and sickness, wealth and poverty, glory and dishonor, insofar as they do not make their possessors good, are not among the things good by nature; but insofar as they provide a certain ease to life, the former are more preferable than their opposites and are said to have some value. These things, however, are given by God to some for the sake of a dispensation, as to Abraham and Job and others like them. But to the more wicked, they are a summons to be improved in their way, as he who after such favor from God persists in injustice irrefutably renders himself liable to condemnation. The just man, however, is neither turned aside by wealth when it is present, nor does he seek it when it is absent; for he is not one who enjoys what is given, but a steward. But no one in his right mind runs after the business of distributing others' property, unless he is looking to the glory of the crowd, who admire and envy those established in some authority. But the just accept sickness as a contest, awaiting great crowns for their endurance. But to set up some other being over the administration of these things is not strange, but impious.

237. To EUSEBIUS, BISHOP OF SAMOSATA

237.1 I wrote to your God-reverence both through the vicar of Thrace, and

through a certain praepositus of the treasuries near Philippopolis who was crossing from our land to Thrace I wrote other letters, and I asked him to take them when he departed. But the vicar did not receive our letters. For while we were visiting the parish, he arrived in the city in the evening and departed again deep in the morning, so that the stewards of the church were unaware of the man's visit, and thus the letters remained with us. And the praepositus, perhaps because some unforeseen circumstance befell him, set out without either taking the letters or seeing us. And there was no one else to be found; wherefore we remained grieved, because it is not possible for us either to write or to receive letters from your God-reverence. And yet I wished, if it were possible for me, to report to you the things that happen to us each day. For so many and strange are the events, that they require a daily history, which, be assured, I would have composed, if I did not have my thoughts driven from the matters at hand by the continuity of things that befall us. 237.2 A vicar visited us, the first and greatest of our evils; a man, whether he is a heretic in his sentiment I do not know (for I think he is inexperienced in every argument and has neither any zeal nor study concerning such things; for I see him busy night and day, in soul and in body, with other things), but nevertheless a friend of heretics and not so much loving them as being hostile to us. For he convened a synod of apostates in the middle of winter in Galatia; and he drove out Hypsis, and put Ecdicius in his place. And he ordered my brother to be brought to trial by one man, and an obscure one at that, having been accused. Then, having busied himself for a little while with the army, he came upon us again, breathing wrath and murder, and with one voice handed over all the clergy of the Church in Caesarea to the Council. And in Sebasteia he sat for many days judging tribes, and those with us

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ἀναγκάζονται πρόσωπα μόνον ὁμολογεῖν διάφορα, καὶ ἐν τῷ περιίστασθαι λέγειν τρεῖς ὑποστάσεις εὑρίσκονται μὴ φεύγοντες τὸ τοῦ Σαβελλίου κακόν, ὃς καὶ αὐτὸς πολλαχοῦ συγχέων τὴν ἔννοιαν ἐπιχειρεῖ διαιρεῖν τὰ πρόσωπα, τὴν αὐτὴν ὑπόστασιν λέγων πρὸς τὴν ἑκάστοτε παρεμπίπτου σαν χρείαν μετασχηματίζεσθαι. 236.7 Καὶ περὶ ὧν ἠρώτησας, πῶς τὰ μέσα καὶ τὰ διάφορα περὶ ἡμᾶς οἰκονομεῖται, εἴτε συντυχίᾳ τινὶ αὐτομάτῳ, εἴτε ἐπὶ δικαίᾳ τοῦ Θεοῦ προνοίᾳ, ἐκεῖνό φαμεν ὅτι ὑγίεια καὶ νόσος, πλοῦτος καὶ πενία, δόξα καὶ ἀτιμία, καθὸ μὲν οὐ ποιεῖ τοὺς ἔχοντας ἀγαθοὺς οὐκ ἔστι τῶν κατὰ φύσιν ἀγαθῶν, καθὸ δὲ εὔροιάν τινα παρέχεται τῷ βίῳ αἱρετώτερά ἐστι τῶν ἐναντίων τὰ προηγούμενα καὶ ἔχει τινὰ ἀξίαν λεγόμενα. Ταῦτα μέντοι τοῖς μὲν οἰκονομίας ἕνεκεν δίδοται παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὡς τῷ Ἀβραὰμ καὶ τῷ Ἰὼβ καὶ τοῖς τοιούτοις. Τοῖς δὲ φαυλοτέροις πρόκλησις τοῦ βελτιωθῆναι κατὰ τὸν τρόπον, ὡς ὅγε μετὰ τοσαύτην παρὰ Θεοῦ δεξίωσιν ἐπιμένων τῇ ἀδικίᾳ ἀναντιρρήτως ἑαυτὸν ὑπόδικον τῇ κατακρίσει καθίστησιν. Ὁ μέντοι δίκαιος οὔτε παρόντος ἐπιστρέφεται τοῦ πλούτου οὔτε μὴ παρόντα ἐπιζητεῖ· οὐ γὰρ ἀπολαυστικός ἐστι τῶν δεδομένων, ἀλλ' οἰκονομικός. Οὐδεὶς δὲ τῶν νοῦν ἐχόντων ἐπιτρέχει τῇ ἀσχολίᾳ τῆς τῶν ἀλλοτρίων διανομῆς, ἐὰν μὴ πρὸς τὴν τῶν πολλῶν ἀποβλέπῃ δόξαν, οἳ θαυμάζουσι καὶ ζηλοῦσι τοὺς ἐν ἐξουσίᾳ τινὶ καθεστῶτας. Τὴν δὲ νόσον ὡς ἄθλησιν οἱ δίκαιοι δέχονται, μεγάλους ἐπὶ τῇ ὑπομονῇ ἀναμένοντες τοὺς στεφάνους. Ἄλλον δέ τινα ἐφιστᾶν τῇ διοικήσει τούτων οὐκ ἀπεμφαῖνον, ἀλλ' ἀσεβές.

237.τ ΕΥΣΕΒΙΩ ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΩ ΣΑΜΟΣΑΤΩΝ

237.1 Ἐγὼ καὶ διὰ τοῦ βικαρίου τῆς Θρᾴκης ἐπέστειλα τῇ θεοσεβείᾳ σου, καὶ

διά τινος πραιποσίτου τῶν κατὰ Φιλιπ πούπολιν θησαυρῶν ἐκ τῆς ἡμετέρας ἐπὶ τὴν Θρᾴκην διαβαίνοντος ἔγραψα ἑτέρας ἐπιστολάς, καὶ παρεκάλεσα αὐτὸν ἀνελέσθαι, ὅταν ἀπαίρῃ. Ἀλλ' οὔτε ὁ βικάριος ὑπε δέξατο ἡμῶν τὰ γράμματα. Περιοδευόντων γὰρ ἡμῶν τὴν παροικίαν, ἐπιστὰς τῇ πόλει ἑσπέρας, ὄρθρου βαθέος πάλιν ἀπήλασεν, ὥστε τοὺς οἰκονόμους λαθεῖν τῆς ἐκκλησίας τὴν τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ἐπιδημίαν καὶ οὕτω μεῖναι παρ' ἡμῖν τὰ γράμ ματα. Ὁ δὲ πραιπόσιτος, τάχα ἀβουλήτου τινὸς αὐτὸν περιστάσεως κατασχούσης, ἐξώρμησε μήτε τὰς ἐπιστολὰς ἀνελόμενος μήτε ἡμᾶς θεασάμενος. Ἄλλου δὲ οὐδενὸς ἦν ἐπιτυχεῖν· ὅθεν ἐμείναμεν λυπούμενοι, ὅτι μήτε ἐπιστέλ λειν ἡμῖν ἔξεστι μήτε δέχεσθαι παρὰ τῆς σῆς θεοσεβείας γράμματα. Καίτοι ἐβουλόμην, εἴ μοι ἦν δυνατόν, τὰ ἐφ' ἑκάστης ἡμέρας συμπίπτοντα ἡμῖν διαγγέλλειν σοι. Οὕτω γὰρ πολλὰ καὶ παράδοξά ἐστι τὰ πράγματα, ὥστε ἱστορίας ἐφημερίδος χρῄζειν, ἣν καὶ συνέταξα, εὖ ἴσθι, εἰ μὴ τῇ συνεχείᾳ τῶν προσπιπτόντων τοὺς λογισμοὺς εἶχον τῶν προκειμένων ἐκκρουομένους. 237.2 Ἐπεδήμησεν ἡμῖν βικάριος, τὸ πρῶτον καὶ μέγιστον τῶν ἡμετέρων κακῶν· ἄνθρωπος, εἰ μὲν καὶ αἱρετικὸς τὸ φρόνημα οὐκ ἐπίσταμαι (οἶμαι γὰρ αὐτὸν παντὸς ἄπειρον εἶναι λόγου καὶ μηδὲ ἔχειν τινὰ σπουδὴν μηδὲ μελέτην περὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα· ἐν ἄλλοις γὰρ αὐτὸν ὁρῶ τῇ ψυχῇ καὶ τῇ σαρκὶ νύκτωρ καὶ μεθ' ἡμέραν ἐνασχολούμενον), πλὴν ἀλλὰ φιλαιρετικὸς καὶ οὐ πλέον ἐκείνους φιλῶν ἢ πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἀπεχθῶς ἔχων. Συνεκρότησε μὲν γὰρ σύνοδον ἀθετούντων ἐν μέσῳ τῷ χειμῶνι ἐπὶ τῆς Γαλατίας· καὶ ἐξέβαλε μὲν τὸν Ὕψιν, ἀντικατέστησε δὲ τὸν Ἐκδίκιον. Ἀγώγιμον δὲ προςέταξε γενέσθαι τὸν ἀδελφὸν τὸν ἐμὸν ὑπὸ ἑνὸς ἀνθρώπου καὶ τούτου ἀσήμου, αἰτιαθέντα. Εἶτα μικρὸν ἀσχοληθεὶς περὶ τὸ στρατόπεδον πάλιν ἡμῖν ἐπῆλθε θυμοῦ καὶ φόνου πνέων, καὶ πάντας μὲν μιᾷ φωνῇ τοὺς ἱερατικοὺς τῆς ἐν Καισαρείᾳ Ἐκκλησίας παρέδωκε τῇ Βουλῇ. Ἐν δὲ Σεβαςτείᾳ ἐκαθέσθη πολλὰς ἡμέρας φυλοκρινῶν, καὶ τοὺς μὲν ἡμῖν