289

saying that all things were created by the only-begotten God, will not call him firstborn of the things that came to be through him, but will more properly name him father, since the same relation to created things in the case of both consequently produces the same title. For if the God over all is properly called not firstborn, but father of his own creation, by the same reasoning, the only-begotten God will certainly also be called father of his own creatures, not properly firstborn, so that the title of firstborn is in every way invalid and superfluous, having no place in the heretical concept. 3.2.58 But we must return to those who connect passion with the divine generation and for this reason deny that the Lord was truly begotten, so that they may not think of passion. For to say that 20passion20 is in every way 20joined20 20to generation20, and for this reason to think that one must hold the Son to be a stranger to the notion of generation, so that the divine might remain purely outside of passion, might seem to have some reason to those who are easily deceived, but for those instructed in the divine 3.2.59 mysteries, the refutation is ready from what is agreed upon. For who does not know that generation leads us to the true and blessed life, not being the same as that which consists of blood and the will of the flesh, in which there is also emission and change and gradual growth toward perfection and all the other things that are observed concerning this generation; but the other is from God and heavenly and, as the Gospel somewhere says, is believed to be from above, which does not admit the passions of flesh and blood? Or let our opponents dare to declare one of two things: either 3.2.60 that the generation from above does not exist, or that it is through passion. But indeed, they agree that it exists and they do not find passion in it. Therefore not every generation is naturally conjoined with passion, but the material one is passible, while the immaterial is pure of passion. What necessity is there, then, to attribute the properties of the flesh to the undefiled generation of the Son, and by ridiculing the lower generation with unseemly natural philosophy to shut out the Son from his kinship 3.2.61 with the Father? For if even in our case generation is the beginning of each life, but the one through the flesh is with passion, while the spiritual is purely, and no one who is in any way numbered among Christians would contradict this argument, how is it possible, when conceiving of a generation in the undefiled nature, to reckon passion with it? 3.2.62 Furthermore, let us examine this as well in addition to what has been said. If because of the passion related to the flesh they disbelieve in the impassibility of the divine generation, let them also, from the same examples, I mean those in us, not believe that God creates impassibly. For if they judge the divine by our standards, they will confess neither that God begets nor that He creates; for 3.2.63 neither of these is effected in us without passion. Therefore let them either separate both from the divine nature, creation and generation, so that in both respects they may preserve impassibility for God, and let them altogether cast out from their dogma the faith in the only-begotten, so that the Father might be preserved outside of passion, neither laboring in creating nor being defiled in begetting; or if they allow that one of them is effected impassibly by the divine power, let them not contend about the other; for if he creates without toil and matter, he also 3.2.64 begets in every way without toil and emission. And again, I have Eunomius arguing in support of this position. I will state his nonsense briefly in a few words, running through all his thought concisely: that 20humans do not create matter for us, but only contrive the form upon the matter20; this is the thought from what was said by him with much 3.2.65 nonsense. If, then, thinking of conception and formation in the lower generation, he for this reason forbids the pure concept of generation, consistently with his own argument that creation here toils over the form, but is unable to provide matter along with the form, let him for this reason also forbid one to think that the Father is a creator. But if he does not wish to conceive of creation in God's case according to the human measure of power, neither the

289

παρὰ τοῦ μονογενοῦς θεοῦ τὰ πάντα κατεσκευάσθαι λέ γοντες οὐ πρωτότοκον τῶν δι' αὐτοῦ γεγενημένων, ἀλλὰ πατέρα κυριώτερον αὐτὸν ὀνομάσουσι, τῆς αὐτῆς ἐπ' ἀμφο τέρων πρὸς τὰ κτίσματα σχέσεως τὴν αὐτὴν κατὰ τὸ ἀκό λουθον προσηγορίαν ποιούσης. εἰ γὰρ κυρίως τοῦ ἰδίου κτίσματος ὁ ἐπὶ πάντων θεὸς οὐ πρωτότοκος, ἀλλὰ πατὴρ ὀνομάζεται, τῷ αὐτῷ λόγῳ πάντως καὶ τῶν ἰδίων κτισμά των πατὴρ ὁ μονογενὴς θεός, οὐ πρωτότοκος κυρίως ὀνο μασθήσεται, ὡς ἄκυρον κατὰ πάντα καὶ παρέλκουσαν εἶναι τοῦ πρωτοτόκου τὴν προσηγορίαν, ἐπὶ τῆς αἱρετικῆς ἐννοίας χώραν οὐκ ἔχουσαν. 3.2.58 Ἀλλ' ἐπανιτέον πρὸς τοὺς τῇ θείᾳ γεννήσει τὸ πάθος συνάπτοντας καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἀπαρνουμένους τὸ ἀληθῶς γεν νηθῆναι τὸν κύριον, ἵνα μὴ πάθος νοήσωσι. τὸ γὰρ λέγειν, ὅτι 20συνέζευκται20 πάντως 20τῇ γεννήσει20 τὸ 20πάθος20, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο χρῆναι τῆς κατὰ τὴν γέννησιν ὑπολήψεως ἀλλοτρίως ἔχειν τὸν υἱὸν οἴεσθαι, ὡς ἂν καθαρῶς ἔξω πά θους διαμένοι τὸ θεῖον, τοῖς μὲν εὐεξαπατήτοις ἴσως ἄν τινα λόγον ἔχειν δοκοίη, τοῖς δὲ πεπαιδευμένοις τὰ θεῖα 3.2.59 μυστήρια πρόχειρος ἐκ τῶν ὁμολογουμένων ὁ ἔλεγχος. τίς γὰρ οὐκ οἶδεν, ὅτι ἡ γέννησις ἡμᾶς εἰς τὴν ἀλη θινήν τε καὶ μακαρίαν ἀνάγει ζωήν, οὐχ ἡ αὐτὴ οὖσα τῇ ἐξ αἱμάτων καὶ θελήματος σαρκὸς συνισταμένῃ, ἐν ᾗ καὶ ῥύσις καὶ μεταβολὴ καὶ ἡ κατ' ὀλίγον πρὸς τε λείωσιν αὔξησις καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα περὶ ταύτην θεωρεῖται τὴν γέννησιν· ἡ δὲ ἑτέρα ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ οὐράνιος καί, καθώς φησί που τὸ εὐαγγέλιον, ἄνωθεν εἶναι πεπιστευμένη, ἥτις τὰ σαρκὸς καὶ τὰ αἵματος οὐ παραδέχεται πάθη; ἢ τολ μησάτωσαν οἱ ἐναντίοι τῶν δύο τὸ ἕτερον ἀποφήνασθαι, ἢ 3.2.60 μὴ εἶναι τὴν ἄνωθεν γέννησιν ἢ διὰ πάθους εἶναι. ἀλλὰ μὴν καὶ εἶναι συντίθενται καὶ τὸ πάθος ἐπ' αὐτῆς οὐχ εὑρίσκουσιν. οὐκοῦν οὐ πᾶσα γέννησις τῷ πάθει συμπέ φυκεν, ἀλλ' ἐμπαθὴς μὲν ἡ ὑλική, καθαρὰ δὲ πάθους ἡ ἄϋλος. τίς οὖν ἡ ἀνάγκη τὰ τῆς σαρκὸς ἴδια τῇ ἀκηράτῳ τοῦ υἱοῦ γεννήσει προστρίβεσθαι καὶ διὰ τοῦ κωμῳδεῖν τὴν κάτω γέννησιν τῇ ἀσχήμονι φυσιολογίᾳ τῆς πατρικῆς οἰκειό 3.2.61 τητος τὸν υἱὸν ἀποκλείειν; εἰ γὰρ καὶ ἐφ' ἡμῶν γέννησις μὲν ἑκατέρας καθηγεῖται ζωῆς, ἀλλ' ἡ μὲν διὰ σαρκὸς ἐμπαθῶς, ἡ δὲ πνευματικὴ καθαρῶς, καὶ οὐκ ἄν τις ἀντ είποι τῷ λόγῳ τῶν καὶ ὁπωσοῦν ἐν Χριστιανοῖς ἀριθμου μένων, πῶς ἔστιν ἐπὶ τῆς ἀκηράτου φύσεως γέννησιν ἐννοή σαντα πάθος ὑπολογίζεσθαι; 3.2.62 Ἔτι δὲ καὶ τοῦτο τοῖς εἰρημένοις προσεξετάσωμεν. εἰ διὰ τὸ περὶ τὴν σάρκα πάθος ἀπιστοῦσι τῇ ἀπαθείᾳ τῆς θείας γεννήσεως, ἐκ τῶν αὐτῶν ὑποδειγμάτων, τῶν ἐν ἡμῖν λέγω, μηδὲ δημιουργεῖν ἀπαθῶς τὸν θεὸν πιστευέτω σαν. εἰ γὰρ πρὸς τὰ ἡμέτερα τὸ θεῖον κρίνουσιν, οὔτε γεννᾶν τὸν θεὸν οὔτε κτίζειν ὁμολογήσουσι· τούτων γὰρ 3.2.63 οὐθέτερον ἐν ἡμῖν ἀπαθῶς ἐνεργεῖται. ἢ οὖν ἀμφότερα τῆς θείας φύσεως χωριζέτωσαν, τὴν κτίσιν τε καὶ τὴν γέννησιν, ἵνα δι' ἑκατέρων τῷ θεῷ τὴν ἀπάθειαν φυλά ξωσι, καὶ καθόλου τὴν εἰς τὸν μονογενῆ πίστιν ἐκ τοῦ δόγματος αὐτῶν ἐκβαλλέτωσαν, ὡς ἂν ἔξω πάθους ὁ πατὴρ φυλάσσοιτο, μήτε κάμνων ἐν τῷ κτίζειν μήτε ἐν τῷ γεννᾶν μολυνόμενος· ἢ εἰ τὸ ἕτερον ἀπαθῶς ἐνεργεῖσθαι συγχω ροῦσι παρὰ τῆς θείας δυνάμεως, μηδὲ περὶ τοῦ ἄλλου ζυγομαχείτωσαν· εἰ γὰρ κτίζει δίχα πόνου καὶ ὕλης, καὶ 3.2.64 γεννᾷ πάντως δίχα πόνου καὶ ῥύσεως. ἔχω δὲ πάλιν καὶ πρὸς τοῦτον τὸν λόγον συνηγοροῦντά μοι τὸν Εὐνόμιον. λέξω δὲ συντεμὼν ἐν ὀλίγῳ τὴν φλυαρίαν αὐτοῦ, πᾶσαν διὰ βραχέων ἐπιδραμὼν τὴν διάνοιαν ὅτι 20οἱ ἄν θρωποι οὐ τὰς ὕλας ἡμῖν κατασκευάζουσιν, ἀλλὰ τὸ εἶδος μόνον ἐπιτεχνῶνται τῇ ὕλῃ20· αὕτη τῶν παρ' αὐτοῦ ῥηθέντων διὰ πολλῆς φλυαρίας ἐστὶν 3.2.65 ἡ διάνοια. εἰ οὖν ἐν τῇ κάτω γεννήσει σύλληψιν καὶ διάπλασιν ἐννοῶν ἀπαγορεύει διὰ τοῦτο τὴν καθαρὰν τῆς γεννήσεως ἔννοιαν, ἀκολούθως κατὰ τὸν αὑτοῦ λόγον τῆς ὧδε κτίσεως περὶ τὸ εἶδος πονούσης, ὕλην δὲ συνεκπορίζειν τῷ εἴδει μὴ δυναμένης, ἀπαγορευέτω διὰ τοῦτο καὶ δη μιουργὸν εἶναι τὸν πατέρα οἴεσθαι. εἰ δὲ μὴ βούλεται κατὰ τὸ ἀνθρώπινον τῆς δυνάμεως μέτρον ἐπὶ τοῦ θεοῦ τὴν κτίσιν νοεῖν, μηδὲ τὴν