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bringing peoples, preparing them to serve an image rather than God and truth. And who else is true like the Son of God? “For who will be made equal to the Lord among the sons of God,” says the scripture, and “another will not be compared to him.” And of whom does it speak? So that you may see that it speaks of the Son, narrating in order it says: “He found out all the way of knowledge, and gave it to Jacob his servant and to Israel his beloved. And after these things he was seen on earth and conversed with men.” How then are these things not truly said of him? * who also says, “I am the truth.” 32. But you will say to me: how did the only-begotten true God say, “that they may know you, the only true God,” so that polytheism might not be thought, so that there might not be a division of the life-giving knowledge? For if the Father is the only true God, the Son is true, truly begotten from the Father. For by “honoring the Father” and revealing him alone as true God, he showed himself to be truly begotten from the Father. For this reason the Father is true God, the only-begotten Son is true God. And from where must this be shown? But observe the words for me here, how he says here that the Father is the only true God; but in the gospel according to John that, it says, “he was the true light.” And what true light but the only-begotten? And again, the scriptures say of God that “God is light,” and it did not say God is true light; but of the only-begotten Son of God that the only-begotten is true light. But of the Father, true God, and it did not say that God is true light; but of the Son that he is God, and to “the Son is God,” it did not add “the true.” And where “God is light,” it did not add “true light.” What then shall we say about the Father? For indeed God is true light, * and thus we will not make the divine deficient. And since “the true light” is not written, and we might say, sinning, that he is not true light, and since it is written that the Son is God and was God with the existing Father—for “the Word was God,” and it did not say the Word became God, but was God—from the two the equivalent things will be shown; from “the Father is true God” and “the Son is true light” the equal balance of their dignity will appear, and from “the Son is God” and “God is light” the equivalence of their glorification will be found. And it will make no difference nor would anyone speak against the truth, but the Father is true God and the only-begotten is true God. 33. Moreover, I am also compelled to speak here about the Holy Spirit, so that by omitting something I may not allow the enemies who wish to contradict to have their * pretext. For so also the Holy Spirit, as the Lord himself testifies, saying, “the Spirit of truth,” “the Spirit of the Father,” and the apostle, “the Spirit of Christ.” Therefore, the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth, the Spirit of God, as true God, as true light, as Spirit of the Father, as Spirit of the Son. For the Trinity is one, the glorification one, the Godhead one, the Lordship one. Father is Father, Son is Son. Holy Spirit is Holy Spirit. The Trinity is not a mixture, not separated from its own unity, not lacking in perfection, not different from its own property, but everything is perfection, three perfect, one Godhead. And the sword of the adversaries has fallen. For it is so written that “their wounds became the arrow of infants.” For infants, even if they wish to take up arrows, are weak, unable to do anything with them in their hands. And if infants are also agitated, they rather slaughter and harm themselves, unable to use the arrow against others, so also these men have waged war with error against themselves, but they will bring no charge against the sons of truth. 34. But I will pass on again to other sayings devised by them. And first, the work is a matter of astonishment, how they have used irony for the deception of the simple and naturally guileless; as the serpent deceived Eve, who was guileless, in the same way also

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λαοὺς φέροντες, εἰκόνι μᾶλλον δουλεῦσαι παρασκευάζοντες ἤπερ θεῷ καὶ ἀληθείᾳ. καὶ τίς ἀληθινὸς ἕτερος ὡς ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ; «τίς γὰρ ἐξισωθήσεται τῷ κυρίῳ ἐν υἱοῖς θεοῦ,» φησιν ἡ γραφὴ καὶ «ἕτερος πρὸς αὐτὸν οὐ λογισθήσεται». καὶ τίνα φησίν; ἵνα ἴδῃς ὅτι περὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ λέγει, καθεξῆς διηγούμενός φησι «ἐξεῦρε πᾶσαν ὁδὸν ἐπιστήμης, καὶ ἔδωκεν αὐτὴν Ἰακὼβ τῷ παιδὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ Ἰσραὴλ τῷ ἠγαπημένῳ ὑπ' αὐτοῦ. καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα ἐπὶ γῆς ὤφθη καὶ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις συνανε3.181 στράφη.» πῶς οὖν οὐκ ἀληθινῶς πρὸς αὐτὸν ταῦτα εἴρητοι; * ὁ καὶ λέγων «ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ἀλήθεια». 32. Ἀλλ' ἐρεῖς μοι· πῶς εἶπεν ὁ μονογενὴς ἀληθινὸς θεὸς «ἵνα γινώσκωσί σε τὸν μόνον ἀληθινὸν θεόν», ἵνα μὴ πολυθεΐα νομισθείη, ἵνα μὴ διαίρεσις γένηται τῆς ζωτικῆς γνώσεως; εἰ γὰρ μόνος ἀληθινὸς θεὸς ὁ πατήρ, ἀληθινὸς ὁ υἱός, ἐκ πατρὸς ἀληθινῶς γεγεννημένος. «τιμῶν γὰρ τὸν ποτέρα» καὶ μόνον αὐτὸν θεὸν ἀληθινὸν ἀποκαλύπτων ἑαυτὸν ἔδειξεν ἐκ πατρὸς ἀληθινῶς γεγεννημένον. διὰ τοῦτο ἀληθινὸς θεὸς ὁ πατήρ, ἀληθινὸς θεὸς ὁ υἱὸς ὁ μονογενής. καὶ πόθεν τοῦτο δεικτέον; ἀλλ' ὅρα μοι τὰς λέξεις ἐνταῦθα, ὡς μόνον ἀληθινὸν θεὸν φάσκει ἐνταῦθα τὸν πατέρα· ἐν δὲ τῷ κατὰ Ἰωάννην εὐαγγελίῳ ὅτι, φησίν, «ἦν τὸ φῶς τὸ ἀληθινόν». καὶ ποῖον φῶς ἀληθινὸν ἀλλ' ἢ ὁ μονογενής; καὶ πάλιν, αἱ γραφαί φασι περὶ τοῦ θεοῦ ὅτι «φῶς ὁ θεός», καὶ οὐκ εἶπε φῶς ἀληθινὸν ὁ θεός· περὶ δὲ τοῦ μονογενοῦς υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ ὅτι φῶς ἀληθινὸν ὁ μονογενής. περὶ δὲ τοῦ πατρὸς θεὸς ἀληθινός, καὶ οὐκ εἶπεν ὅτι φῶς ἀληθινὸν ὁ θεός· περὶ δὲ τοῦ υἱοῦ ὅτι θεός, καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ θεὸς ὁ υἱός, οὐ προσέθετο τὸ ἀληθινόν. καὶ ὅπου φῶς ὁ θεός, οὐ προσέθετο φῶς ἀληθινόν. τί οὖν λέγωμεν περὶ τοῦ πατρός; ὅτι μὲν γὰρ φῶς ἀληθινὸν ὁ θεός, * καὶ οὐκ ἄρα ἐλλιπὲς ποιήσομεν τὸ θεῖον. καὶ ἐπειδὴ οὐκ ἔστι γεγραμμένον τὸ φῶς τὸ ἀληθινόν, καὶ εἴποιμεν ἁμαρτάνοντες, ὅτι οὐκ ἔστι φῶς ἀληθινόν, καὶ ἐπειδὴ ὁ υἱὸς γέγραπται ὅτι θεός ἐστι καὶ ἦν ὁ θεὸς πρὸς τὸν ὄντα πατέρα καὶ γὰρ «ἦν θεὸς ὁ λόγος», καὶ οὐκ εἶπεν ὅτι θεὸς ἐγένετο ὁ λόγος, ἀλλὰ θεὸς ἦν, ἐκ δὲ τῶν δύο τὰ ἰσόρροπα δειχθήσεται· ἐκ τοῦ μὲν θεὸς ἀληθινὸς ὁ πατὴρ καὶ φῶς ἀληθινὸν ὁ υἱὸς τὰ ἰσόζυγα φανεῖται τῆς ἀξίας καὶ ἐκ τοῦ θεὸς ὁ υἱὸς καὶ φῶς ὁ θεὸς τὰ ἰσόρροπα τῆς δοξολογίας εὑρεθήσεται. καὶ οὐδὲν διοίσει οὐδὲ ἀντιλέξειέ τις τῇ ἀληθείᾳ, ἀλλὰ ἀληθινὸς θεὸς ὁ πατὴρ καὶ ἀληθινὸς θεὸς ὁ μονογενής. 33. Ἔτι δὲ καὶ περὶ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος ἀναγκάζομαι τοῦ λέγειν ἐνταῦθα, ἵνα μὴ παραλείψας τι δῶ τοῖς βουλομένοις ἀντιλέγειν ἐχθροῖς 3.182 τὰς αὐτῶν ἔχειν * πρόφασιν. οὕτω γὰρ καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, ὡς αὐτὸς ὁ κύριος μαρτυρεῖ λέγων «τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας», «τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ πατρός», ὁ δὲ ἀπόστολος «πνεῦμα Χριστοῦ». ἄρα γοῦν τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα ἀληθείας, πνεῦμα θεοῦ, ὡς θεὸς ἀληθινός, ὡς φῶς ἀληθινόν, ὡς πνεῦμα πατρός, ὡς πνεῦμα υἱοῦ. μία γάρ ἐστιν ἡ τριάς, μία ἡ δοξολογία, μία ἡ θεότης, μία ἡ κυριότης. πατὴρ πατήρ, υἱὸς υἱός. ἅγιον πνεῦμα ἅγιον πνεῦμα, οὐ συναλοιφὴ ἡ τριάς, οὐ διεστῶσα τῆς ἰδίας αὐτῆς μονάδος, οὐκ ἐλλιπὴς τῆς τελειότητος, οὐκ ἀλλοία τῆς ἰδίας ἰδιότητος, ἀλλὰ πάντα τελειότης, τρία τέλεια, μία θεότης. καὶ πέπτωκεν ἡ τῶν δι' ἐναντίας μάχαιρα. καὶ γὰρ οὕτω γέγραπται ὅτι «βέλος νηπίων ἐγενήθησαν αἱ πληγαὶ αὐτῶν». καὶ γὰρ τὰ νήπια, κἄν τε θέλῃ λαμβάνειν βέλη, ἀνίσχυρα τυγχάνει, μὴ δυνάμενα ἐν χερσὶν αὐτῶν τι πράττειν. ἐὰν δὲ καὶ παραταραχθῇ τὰ νήπια, μᾶλλον ἑαυτὰ σφάζει καὶ ἑαυτὰ ἀδικεῖ, μὴ δυνάμενα ἄλλοις ἐπιχειρεῖν τοῦ βέλους τὸ ἐπιχείρημα, ὡς καὶ οὗτοι καθ' ἑαυτῶν ἐπεστράτευσαν τὴν πλάνην, οὐδὲν δὲ ἐνσκήψουσιν εἰς τοὺς υἱοὺς τῆς ἀληθείας. 34. Παρελεύσομαι δὲ καὶ εἰς ἑτέρας λέξεις πάλιν τὰς ὑπ' αὐτῶν ἐπινοουμένας. καὶ πρῶτον μὲν ἐκπλήξεώς ἐστι τὸ ἔργον, ὡς εἰρωνείᾳ κέχρηνται πρὸς ἀπάτην τῶν ἀφελῶν καὶ ἀκεραίων φύσει· ὡς ὁ ὄφις ἠπάτησε τὴν Εὔαν ἀκεραίαν οὖσαν, τῷ αὐτῷ τρόπῳ καὶ