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to write and to leave behind for those after us, in every way charming me in a friendly manner and by the urging of the deity you have led me to this, you will be my witness before God for my whole life and when I am examined concerning what has been dictated, with what purpose this has been done. And where we succeed, and where we either strain more violently or *seem* to say something. We have tracked down what is written, not despising the well-spoken "when you speak about God, you are judged by God," and the "to speak even the truth about God is no small danger." We ask, therefore, since nothing can be good without God, and especially the understanding of divinely-inspired scriptures, that you, approaching the God and Father of all through our savior and high priest, the created 2.417 God, ask that it be granted to us first to seek well, since the promise of finding lies for those who seek; perhaps those not proceeding to this by the right way are not even from the beginning reckoned by God among those who seek. Thus far from Origen. 8. And my beginning of speaking is to this braggart and seeming sage and investigator of unsearchable things and revealer of heavenly things, the one who has filled his life with nonsense, as even our superior has said against him, first concerning a created God. And that there are many identical words and homonyms in life is clear to everyone. And if the word were spoken by another, it would be possible to say that this too was said with an orthodox meaning; but since in many places we have found him wickedly alienating the only-begotten God from the divinity and substance of the Father, and likewise also the Holy Spirit, for this reason it is clear that by his saying "created God," he defines him as a creature. For as some wish to deceive us and say that "created" is equal to "begotten," this is not to be accepted; * but to speak of God but only of creatures. For "created" is one thing, and "begotten" is another. Concerning, at any rate, the "creature" or "created God" spoken by him, we ask first: In what ways has the God honored by you through this word been created, and how is he worthy of worship, if he is a product? For take away the blame from the holy apostle upon those who deify creation and give me a God who is worshipped yet is a creature according to the pious faith, which worships not the creation but the creator, and the consequence of your misguided argument from the piety of the fathers will be with you reasonable. But surely you cannot demonstrate this. And even if you dared to plunder from somewhere and to do violence, not even in this will you be able to divert the reasonable thought of the God-fearing to such worthlessness, O you who are driven by God. For both the thought and the word oppose you. For everything created is not to be worshipped, as I said. But if it is to be worshipped at all, since there are many other created things, it would make no difference for us also to worship all things with the one creature, being fellow slaves and having fallen under the same application of the name. 9. Let us see through the four gospels, through which the God Logos came and ordered our whole life, if Christ has anywhere said "God created me" or "my Father created me." And let us see if the Father also declared in one of the gospels that "I created the Son and have sent him to you." But concerning this, let things stand for now thus far. For we have often set forth many things concerning testimonies against those who introduce the creature. But it will not hurt to show in the present case the easy grasp of the argument and to say to this would-be philosopher: How can he be a creature, O you, who says "I am in the Father and the Father is in me, and we two are one?" And how can he be of a different kind, who has equal honor with the Father? "For no one knows the Son except the Father, nor the Father except the Son" and "he who has seen me has seen the Father." Again likewise, as much as is disputed by him concerning the resurrection, taking up the consequence we will speak again from his own sayings. And from one word let us demonstrate the entirety of his opinion and the faithlessness of the glory of his dogma

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γράφειν καὶ τοῖς μεθ' ἡμᾶς καταλιπεῖν, παντοδαπῶς κατεπᾴδων φιλικῶς καὶ κατὰ προτροπὴν θεότητος εἰς τοῦτο ἤγαγές με, μάρτυς ἔσῃ μοι πρὸς θεὸν μεθ' ὅλου τοῦ βίου καὶ περὶ τῶν ὑπηγορευμένων ἐξεταζομένῳ, ποίᾳ τε προθέσει τοῦτο γεγένηται. καὶ πῆ μὲν ἐπιτυγχάνομεν, πῆ δὲ ἤτοι βιαζόμεθα βιαιότερον ἢ * δοκοῦμεν * τι λέγειν. ἐξιχνεύσαμεν δὲ τὸ γεγραμμένον, οὐ καταφρονοῦντες τοῦ «ὅτε λέγεις περὶ θεοῦ, κρίνῃ ὑπὸ θεοῦ» καλῶς εἰρημένου, καὶ τοῦ «περὶ θεοῦ καὶ τἀληθῆ λέγειν κίνδυνος οὐ μικρός». ἀξιοῦμεν τοίνυν, ἐπεὶ μηδὲν χωρὶς θεοῦ καλὸν εἶναι δύναται καὶ μάλιστα νόησις γραφῶν θεοπνεύστων, ὅπως τῷ θεῷ καὶ πατρὶ τῶν ὅλων διὰ τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν καὶ ἀρχιερέως γενητοῦ 2.417 θεοῦ προσιὼν αἰτήσῃς δοθῆναι ἡμῖν πρῶτον καλῶς ζητεῖν, ἐπεὶ κεῖται τοῖς ζητοῦσιν ἐπαγγελία τοῦ εὑρίσκειν· τάχα οὐδὲ τὴν ἀρχὴν εἰς ζητοῦντας λογιζομένων παρὰ θεῷ τῷ οὐχ ὁδῷ ἐπὶ τοῦτο προϊόντων. Ἕως ὧδε τὰ ἀπὸ Ὠριγένους. 8. Ἀρχὴ δέ μοι λέγειν πρὸς τὸν κομπώδη καὶ δοκήσει σοφὸν καὶ ἐρευνητὴν τῶν ἀνερευνήτων καὶ ἐκβιβαστὴν τῶν ἐπουρανίων τουτονί, τὸν φλυαρίας ἐμπλήσαντα τὸν βίον, ὡς καὶ ὁ κρείττων ἡμῶν κατ' αὐτοῦ εἴρηκε, πρῶτον περὶ γενητοῦ θεοῦ. καὶ ὅτι μὲν ὁμολεξίαι τε καὶ ὁμωνυμίαι πολλαὶ ἐν τῷ βίῳ εἰσίν, παντί τῳ δῆλόν ἐστιν. καὶ εἰ μὲν ὑπὸ ἄλλου ἡ λέξις ἐλέγετο, ἦν εἰπεῖν ὅτι κατὰ ὀρθὴν διάνοιαν καὶ τοῦτο εἴρηται· ὁπότε δὲ ἐν πολλοῖς τόποις εὕραμεν αὐτὸν κακῶς τὸν μονογενῆ θεὸν ἀπαλλοτριοῦντα τῆς τοῦ πατρὸς θεότητός τε καὶ οὐσίας, ὁμοῦ δὲ καὶ τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα, τούτου χάριν τῷ γενητὸν θεὸν εἰρηκέναι αὐτὸν σαφές ἐστιν ὅτι κτιστὸν ὁρίζεται. Ὡς γάρ τινες ἡμᾶς βούλονται σοφίζεσθαι καὶ λέγειν ἴσον τὸ γενητὸν εἶναι τῷ γεννητῷ, οὐ παραδεκτέον τοῦτο· * δὲ ἐπὶ θεοῦ λέγειν ἀλλ' ἢ ἐπὶ τὰ κτίσματα μόνον. ἕτερον γάρ ἐστι γενητὸν καὶ ἕτερόν ἐστι γεννητόν. εἰς τὸ γοῦν παρ' αὐτῷ ῥηθὲν κτιστὸν ἤτοι γενητὸν θεόν, πρῶτον ἐρωτῶμεν· ποίοις τρόποις ἔκτισται ὁ παρὰ σοῦ διὰ τῆς λέξεως ταύτης τιμώμενος θεός, πῶς δέ ἐστι προσκυνητός, εἰ ἔστι ποιητός; ἄφελε γὰρ τὴν μέμψιν τὴν παρὰ τῷ ἁγίῳ ἀποστόλῳ ἐπὶ τοῖς τὴν κτίσιν θεολογοῦσι καὶ ἐπίδος μοι θεὸν προσκυνούμενον κτιστὸν κατὰ τὴν εὐσεβῆ πίστιν, τὴν μὴ τῇ κτίσει προσ2.418 κυνοῦσαν ἀλλὰ τῷ κτίσαντι, καὶ ἔσται παρὰ σοὶ εὔλογος ἡ τοῦ πεπλανημένου σου λόγου ἀπὸ τῆς τῶν πατέρων εὐσεβείας ἀκολουθία. ἀλλὰ οὐ μὴν δύνασαι τοῦτο παραστῆσαι. εἰ δὲ καὶ ἐτόλμας ἀποσυλῆσαί ποθεν καὶ βιάσασθαι, οὐδὲ ἐν τούτῳ τὸν εὔλογον λογισμὸν τῶν θεοσεβῶν παρεκτρέπειν εἰς τοσαύτην φαυλότητα δυνήσῃ, ὦ θεήλατε. ἀντιμάχεται γάρ σοι καὶ τὸ φρόνημα καὶ ὁ λόγος. πᾶν γὰρ τὸ κτιστὸν οὐ προσκυνῃτόν, ὡς ἔφην. εἰ δὲ ὅλως προσκυνητόν, πολλῶν ἄλλων ὑπαρχόντων κτιστῶν οὐδὲν ἂν διοίσει τὸ καὶ ἡμᾶς μετὰ τοῦ ἑνὸς κτιστοῦ τὰ ὅλα προσκυνεῖν, σύνδουλα ὄντα καὶ τῇ αὐτῇ ἀγωγῇ τῆς ὀνομασίας ὑποπεπτωκότα. 9. Ἴδωμεν δὲ διὰ τῶν τεσσάρων εὐαγγελίων, δι' ὧν τὴν πᾶσαν ἡμῶν ζωὴν ᾠκονόμησεν ἐλθὼν ὁ θεὸς Λόγος, εἴ που εἴρηκεν ὁ Χριστός «ὁ θεός με ἔκτισεν» ἢ «ὁ πατήρ μου ἔκτισέ με». ἴδωμεν δὲ εἰ καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ἀπεφήνατο ἐν ἑνὶ τῶν εὐαγγελίων ὅτι «ἔκτισα τὸν υἱὸν καὶ ἀπέσταλκα ὑμῖν». ἀλλὰ περὶ τούτου ἕως ὧδε τὰ νῦν ἐχέτω. περὶ γὰρ μαρτυριῶν πολλάκις κατὰ τῶν τὸ κτίσμα παρεισαγόντων πολλὰ ἐξεθέμεθα. οὐδὲν δὲ λυπήσει καὶ ἐν τῷ παρόντι δεῖξαι τὸ εὔληπτον τοῦ λόγου καὶ εἰπεῖν πρὸς τοῦτον τὸν ἐθελόσοφον· πῶς δύναται κτιστὸς εἶναι, ὦ οὗτος, ὁ λέγων «ἐγὼ ἐν τῷ πατρὶ καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ἐν ἐμοί, καὶ οἱ δύο ἕν ἐσμεν;» πῶς δὲ δύναται ἀλλοῖος εἶναι ὁ τὴν ἴσην τιμὴν πρὸς τὸν πατέρα ἔχων; «οὐδεὶς γὰρ οἶδε τὸν υἱὸν εἰ μὴ ὁ πατήρ, οὐδὲ τὸν πατέρα εἰ μὴ ὁ υἱός» καὶ «ὁ ἑωρακὼς ἐμὲ ἑώρακε τὸν πατέρα». Πάλιν δὲ ὡσαύτως, ὅσα αὐτῷ περὶ ἀναστάσεως ἀμφιβάλλεται, ἐπιλαβόμενοι τῆς ἀκολουθίας αὖθις ἐροῦμεν ἐκ τῶν αὐτοῦ ῥητῶν. ἀπὸ μιᾶς δὲ λέξεως τὸ πᾶν τῆς γνώμης αὐτοῦ ἀποδείξωμεν καὶ τὸ ἄπιστον τῆς δόξης τοῦ αὐτοῦ δόγματος