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is believed. But surely if he is truly God, he also always is, and is never found in non-being. For God, as we have often said, if he is now, he also always was; but if he ever was not, he is not now at all. But since it is confessed even by the enemies of the truth that the only-begotten God is Son and remains forever, we say this: that being in the Father, he is not in him in one way only, but in all ways that the Father is conceived, he is in him through all things. Therefore, just as being in the incorruptibility of the Father he is incorruptible, and in the goodness good, and in the power powerful, and being in each of the better things conceived in the Father he is that thing, so also in eternity he is by all means eternal. 3.6.11 The eternity of the Father is known in his neither beginning from non-being nor ending in non-being. Therefore, he who has all the things of the Father and is contemplated in all the glory of the Father, just as being in the endlessness of the Father he has no end of life, so also being in the beginninglessness of the Father he has no beginning of days, as the Apostle says, but he is both from the Father and is beheld in the eternity of the Father, and in this way especially the unvarying character of the image in all respects is contemplated in relation to the one of whom he is the image, and the saying is found true in these things which says, 'He who has seen me has seen the Father.' 3.6.12 But also that which was said by the Apostle might thus be understood especially well and fittingly, that the Son is the effulgence of his glory and the very stamp of his substance. For to those unable to lead their reasoning to the height of the knowledge of God through the contemplation of intelligible things, to them, from the things that appear to the senses, the apostle produces for his hearers a certain image of the truth. 3.6.13 For as the solar body is characterized by the whole of its surrounding circle, and one who has seen the circle has reasoned out through the appearance the substance of the whole underlying depth, so he said that in the greatness of the Son's power the majesty of the Father is characterized, so that as much as the one is known, so much is the other believed to be; 3.6.14 and again, as from the entire solar circle the brilliance of light is radiated (for one part does not shine, while another part of the circle is without light), so the whole glory, which is the Father, is from all sides illumined by the radiance from himself, that is, by the true light; and as the ray is from the sun (for it would not be a ray if there were no sun), yet the sun is never conceived by itself without the ray that is radiated from it, so, handing down the continuous and eternal existence of the only-begotten from the Father, the Apostle named the Son the radiance of his glory. 3.6.15 With these things thus distinguished by us, no one could any longer doubt how the only-begotten is believed to be both from the Father and is eternally, even if it seems, according to a superficial notion, that the statement saying he is from the Father does not agree with the one testifying to his eternity. But if it is necessary to confirm the argument by other means, it would be possible to understand the dogma concerning this matter through some of the things known to us by sense-perception. But let no one take offense at the argument for not being able to find among existing things such an image of what is sought that would be sufficient in all respects through some analogy and likeness for the representation of the subject at hand. 3.6.16 For we wish to persuade those who say that the Father first deliberated, and then came to be Father, and through this reasoning constructing his later generation, [we wish to persuade them] by means of whatever examples it might be possible for us to turn their mind towards piety. For neither does this immediate connection constrain the will of the Father, as if by some necessity of nature he had the Son without choice, nor does the will separate the Son from the Father, as if some interval fell between, so as neither to expel from the dogma the will of the begetter for the Son, as if it were confined in the connection of the Son's unity with the Father, nor indeed to dissolve the unintermitted connection, whenever the will is contemplated in the generation. 3.6.17 For this belongs to our heavy and slow-moving nature

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πεπιστευμένον. ἀλλὰ μὴν εἰ ἀληθῶς ἐστι θεός, καὶ ἀεὶ πάντως ἔστι καὶ οὐδέποτε ἐν τῷ μὴ εἶναι καταλαμβάνεται. θεὸς γάρ, καθὼς πολλάκις εἰρήκαμεν, εἰ νῦν ἔστι, καὶ ἀεὶ πάντως ἦν, εἰ δέ ποτε μὴ ἦν, οὐδὲ νῦν ἔστιν ὅλως. ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ τὸ υἱὸν εἶναι τὸν μονογενῆ θεὸν καὶ εἰσαεὶ διαμένειν καὶ παρὰ τῶν ἐχθρῶν τῆς ἀληθείας ὁμολογεῖται, τοῦτό φαμεν ὅτι ἐν τῷ πατρὶ ὢν οὐ καθ' ἓν μόνον ἐστὶν ἐν αὐτῷ, ἀλλὰ κατὰ πάντα ὅσα νοεῖται ὁ πατήρ, διὰ πάντων ἐστὶν ἐν αὐτῷ. ὡς οὖν ἐν τῷ ἀφθάρτῳ τοῦ πατρὸς ὢν ἄφθαρτός ἐστι καὶ ἐν τῷ ἀγαθῷ ἀγαθὸς καὶ ἐν τῷ δυνατῷ δυνατὸς καὶ ἐν ἑκάστῳ ὢν τῶν πρὸς τὸ κρεῖττον ἐν τῷ πατρὶ νοου μένων ἐκεῖνό ἐστιν, οὕτως καὶ ἐν τῷ ἀϊδίῳ πάντως ἀΐδιος. 3.6.11 ἡ δὲ τοῦ πατρὸς ἀϊδιότης ἐν τῷ μήτε ἐκ τοῦ μὴ ὄντος ἄρξασθαι μήτε εἰς τὸ μὴ ὂν καταλήγειν γνωρίζεται. οὐκοῦν ὁ πάντα τὰ τοῦ πατρὸς ἔχων καὶ ἐν πάσῃ τῇ δόξῃ τοῦ πατρὸς θεωρούμενος ὥσπερ ἐν τῷ ἀτελευτήτῳ τοῦ πατρὸς ὢν ζωῆς τέλος οὐκ ἔχει, οὕτω καὶ ἐν τῷ ἀνάρχῳ τοῦ πατρὸς ὢν ἀρχὴν ἡμερῶν οὐκ ἔχει, καθώς φησιν ὁ ἀπό στολος, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐκ τοῦ πατρός ἐστι καὶ ἐν τῇ ἀϊδιότητι τοῦ πατρὸς καθορᾶται, καὶ τούτῳ μάλιστα τῷ τρόπῳ τὸ διὰ πάντων τῆς εἰκόνος ἀπαράλλακτον πρὸς τὸν οὗ ἐστιν εἰκὼν θεωρεῖται, καὶ ἀληθὴς ὁ λόγος ἐν τούτοις εὑρί σκεται ὁ εἰπὼν ὅτι Ὁ ἑωρακὼς ἐμὲ ἑώρακε τὸν πατέρα. 3.6.12 ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ παρὰ τοῦ ἀποστόλου εἰρημένον οὕτως ἂν μά λιστα νοηθείη καλῶς καὶ προσφυῶς ἔχον, τὸ ἀπαύγασμα εἶναι τῆς δόξης καὶ χαρακτῆρα τῆς ὑποστάσεως τὸν υἱόν. τοῖς γὰρ ἀδυνατοῦσιν ἐπὶ τὸ ὕψος τῆς θεογνωσίας τὸν λο γισμὸν ἀγαγεῖν διὰ τῆς τῶν νοητῶν θεωρίας, τούτοις ἐκ τῶν τῇ αἰσθήσει προφαινομένων ἐμποιεῖ τινα τοῖς ἀκούουσιν 3.6.13 ὁ ἀπόστολος τοῦ ἀληθοῦς φαντασίαν. ὡς γὰρ τὸ ἡλιακὸν σῶμα ὅλῳ τῷ περιέχοντι κύκλῳ χαρακτηρίζεται καὶ ὁ τὸν κύκλον ἰδὼν ὅλου τοῦ κατὰ τὸ βάθος ὑποκειμένου τὴν ὑπόστασιν διὰ τοῦ φαινομένου ἀνελογίσατο, οὕτως εἶπεν ἐν τῷ μεγέθει τῆς τοῦ υἱοῦ δυνάμεως τὸ τοῦ πατρὸς μεγα λεῖον χαρακτηρίζεσθαι, ἵνα ὅσον τοῦτο γινώσκεται, τοσοῦτον 3.6.14 εἶναι κἀκεῖνο πιστεύηται· καὶ πάλιν ὡς ἐκ παντὸς τοῦ ἡλιακοῦ κύκλου ἡ τοῦ φωτὸς λαμπηδὼν ἀπαυγάζεται (οὐ γὰρ τὸ μέν τι λάμπει, τὸ δὲ ἀλαμπές ἐστι τοῦ κύκλου), οὕτως ὅλη ἡ δόξα, ἥτις ἐστὶν ὁ πατήρ, τῷ ἐξ ἑαυτῆς ἀπαυγάσματι τουτέστι τῷ ἀληθινῷ φωτὶ πανταχόθεν περι αυγάζεται· καὶ ὡς ἐκ τοῦ ἡλίου μὲν ἐστὶν ἡ ἀκτίς (οὐ γὰρ ἂν ἦν ἀκτίς, εἰ μὴ ἥλιος ἦν), οὐ μήν ποτε χωρὶς τῆς ἀπαυγαζομένης ἀκτῖνος ἐφ' ἑαυτοῦ νοεῖται ὁ ἥλιος, οὕτω τὸ συναφές τε καὶ ἀΐδιον τῆς ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς ὑπάρξεως τοῦ μονογενοῦς παραδιδοὺς ὁ ἀπόστολος ἀπαύγασμα δόξης τὸν υἱὸν κατωνόμασε. 3.6.15 Τούτων οὖν ἡμῖν οὕτω διῃρημένων οὐκέτ' ἄν τις ἀμφι βάλλοι πῶς καὶ ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς ὁ μονογενὴς εἶναι πεπί στευται καὶ ἀϊδίως ἔστι, κἂν δοκῇ κατὰ τὴν πρόχειρον ἔννοιαν μὴ συμβαίνειν ὁ λόγος τῷ λόγῳ ὁ ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτὸν εἶναι λέγων τῷ μαρτυροῦντι αὐτῷ τὸ ἀΐδιον. εἰ δὲ χρὴ καὶ δι' ἑτέρων τὸν λόγον πιστώσασθαι, δυνατὸν ἂν γέ νοιτο νοῆσαι τὸ περὶ τούτου δόγμα διά τινων τῶν κατὰ τὴν αἴσθησιν ἡμῖν γνωριζομένων. μηδεὶς δὲ ἐπηρεαζέτω τῷ λόγῳ μὴ δυναμένῳ τοιαύτην ἐν τοῖς οὖσιν εὑρεῖν εἰκόνα τοῦ ζητουμένου, ἣ διὰ πάντων ἀρκέσει δι' ἀναλογίας τινὸς 3.6.16 καὶ ὁμοιότητος πρὸς τὴν τοῦ προκειμένου παράστασιν. βου λόμεθα γὰρ τοὺς λέγοντας πρότερον βεβουλεῦσθαι τὸν πατέρα, εἶθ' οὕτως ἐλθεῖν ἐπὶ τὸ γενέσθαι πατέρα καὶ διὰ τούτου τὸ μεταγενέστερον τῷ λόγῳ κατασκευάζοντας πεῖσαι δι' ὧν ἂν γένοιτο δυνατὸν ἡμῖν ὑποδειγμάτων μετάγειν πρὸς τὸ εὐσεβὲς τὴν διάνοιαν. οὔτε γὰρ ἡ ἄμεσος αὕτη συνά φεια ἐκθλίβει τὴν βούλησιν τοῦ πατρὸς ὡς κατά τινα φύ σεως ἀνάγκην ἀπροαιρέτως τὸν υἱὸν ἐσχηκότος, οὔτε ἡ βούλησις διΐστησι τοῦ πατρὸς τὸν υἱὸν ὥς τι διάστημα μεταξὺ παρεμπίπτουσα, ὡς μήτε ἐκβάλλειν τοῦ δόγματος τὴν ἐπὶ τῷ υἱῷ βούλησιν τοῦ γεννήσαντος, οἷον στενοχωρου μένην ἐν τῇ συναφείᾳ τῆς τοῦ υἱοῦ πρὸς τὸν πατέρα ἑνό τητος, μήτε μὴν τὴν ἀδιάστατον διαλύειν συνάφειαν, ὅταν ἐν 3.6.17 θεωρῆται τῇ γεννήσει ἡ βούλησις. τοῦτο γὰρ τῆς βαρείας ἡμῶν καὶ δυσκινήτου φύσεώς ἐστιν