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These men, if they wish to win someone over, first with much flattery and lavishness and attention, with promise and at the same time with threats, saying, "You oppose the royal decrees and the wrath of the emperor Valens," to those not willing to be carried along in their faith *. And what do they say? "For what is it that we say? This is the faith, only you are conceited." Let us see, then, if it is the same faith. He says, then: We confess the begotten Son from the Father and we do not deny him. But we must, he says, also confess him as a creature and a thing made. But nothing is more foolish. For everything that is created is not like that which is begotten, nor is that which is begotten like that which is created, especially in relation to that one pure and perfect essence. For all things have been created by God, but only the Son of God has been begotten and only the Holy Spirit has proceeded from the Father and received from the Son. But all other things are created and have neither proceeded from the Father nor 3.183 do they receive from the Son, but from the fullness of the Son, as it is written: "For by the word of God were all things established, and by the spirit of his mouth all their power." But, he says, one must also confess him as a creature, since Scripture spoke of "creature" in a more figurative sense and of "offspring" in a figurative sense. For even if we say "offspring," we will not say it as one of the offspring. Therefore, when they say "offspring" and it is not true offspring, they deceive the more simple-minded. And we also confess him as a creature, they say; for Christ has been called a door and a way and a pillar and a cloud and a rock and a sheep and a lamb and a torrent and a calf and a lion and a spring and wisdom and word and son and angel and Christ and savior and lord and man and son of man and cornerstone and sun and prophet and bread and king and builder and husbandman and shepherd and vine and as many such things. Thus, they say, we also call him a creature figuratively. For we must confess it. 35. Alas for such evil insinuation and craftiness. May the Lord not grant that any of the sons of truth be subjected to such dissimulation, so that through such pretexts he might be persuaded to accept the name of "creature" for the Son of God and thus confess it. For let them give us the use of this and * the rendering of their reasonings. For all those things were said figuratively, none of them impinging upon the divinity of the Son, nor making his essential being * fall short with respect to the Father. Whether he be called a door, since through him we enter; or a way, since through him we walk; or a pillar, since he is the foundation of truth; or a cloud, since he covered the sons of Israel; or a pillar, because of the brightness of the fire which gave light in the desert; or manna, since they denied him as heavenly bread; or bread, since through him we are strengthened; or an angel, since he is the angel of great counsel, for the name "angel" is a homonym; for Rahab received the angels, and those who were sent were not angels but those who brought news about the place; so also the only-begotten, since he announced the will of the Father 3.184 to men, is the angel of great counsel, announcing in the world the great counsel and a stone, not an unfeeling stone, but figuratively, because he became a stumbling block to the Jews, but to us a foundation of salvation, and a cornerstone, because he bound together the old and new covenant, both circumcision and uncircumcision into one union; and a lamb because of his innocence and because through him sin has been removed from men, in that he was offered to the Father as a sheep for slaughter, since he, the impassible one, came to suffer for us, that we might be saved, and if there is anything else that contributes with the same usages to the salvation of the sons of men, it is referred to him figuratively from the divine Scripture. 36. What then would "creature" profit, or what

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οὗτοι, ἐὰν θέλωσι περιποιήσασθαι, τὸ πρῶτον μὲν κολακείαις πολλαῖς καὶ δαψιλείᾳ καὶ προσοχῇ, ὑποσχέσει τε ἅμα καὶ φοβερισμοῖς, ὅτι «τοῖς βασιλικοῖς προστάγμασι καὶ τῷ τοῦ βασιλέως Οὐάλεντος θυμῷ ἐναντιοῦσθε», τοῖς μὴ βουλομένοις κατὰ τὴν αὐτῶν πίστιν φέρεσθαι *. καὶ τί φασι; «τί γάρ ἐστιν ὃ λέγομεν; αὐτή ἐστιν ἡ πίστις, μόνον δὲ ὅτι κενοδοξεῖτε.» ἴδωμεν οὖν, εἰ ἡ αὐτή ἐστι πίστις. φησὶν οὖν· ὁμολογοῦμεν τὸν γεγεννημένον υἱὸν ἐκ πατρὸς καὶ οὐκ ἀρνούμεθα. ἀλλὰ δεῖ ἡμᾶς, φησι, καὶ τὸ κτίσμα ὁμολογεῖν καὶ τὸ ποίημα. οὐδὲν δὲ ἠλιθιώτερον. πᾶν γὰρ τὸ κτιζόμενον οὐχ ὅμοιον τυγχάνει τῷ γεγεννημένῳ οὔτε τὸ γεννώμενον ὅμοιον τῷ κτιζομένῳ, μάλιστα πρὸς ἐκείνην τὴν μίαν ἀκραιφνῆ καὶ τελείαν οὐσίαν. πάντα γὰρ ὑπὸ θεοῦ κέκτισται, μόνος δὲ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ γεγέννηται καὶ μόνον τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα ἐκ πατρὸς προῆλθε καὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ ἔλαβε. τὰ δὲ ἄλλα πάντα κτιστὰ καὶ οὔτε προελθόντα ἐκ πατρὸς προῆλθεν οὔτε 3.183 τοῦ υἱοῦ λαμβάνοντα, ἀλλὰ ἐκ τοῦ πληρώματος τοῦ υἱοῦ, καθὼς γέγραπται· «τῷ γὰρ λόγῳ τοῦ θεοῦ τὰ πάντα ἐστερεώθησαν, καὶ τῷ πνεύματι τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ πᾶσα ἡ δύναμις αὐτῶν.» ἀλλά, φησι, δεῖ ὁμολογεῖν καὶ τὸ κτίσμα, ἐπειδὴ εἶπεν ἡ γραφὴ τροπικώτερον λεγόμενον τὸ κτίσμα καὶ τροπικῶς λεγόμενον τὸ γέννημα. κἄν τε γὰρ εἴπωμεν γέννημα, οὐχ ὡς ἓν τῶν γεννημάτων ἐροῦμεν. ἄρα οὖν ἐν ᾧ ἐροῦσι τὸ γέννημα καὶ οὐκ ἀληθινὸν τὸ γέννημα, τοὺς ἀκεραιοτέρους ἀπατῶσι. καὶ τὸ κτίσμα δὲ ὁμολογοῦμεν, φασίν· ἐπειδὴ γὰρ καὶ θύρα κέκληται ὁ Χριστὸς καὶ ὁδὸς καὶ στύλος καὶ νεφέλη καὶ πέτρα καὶ ἀρνίον καὶ ἀμνὸς καὶ χείμαρρος καὶ μόσχος καὶ λέων καὶ πηγὴ καὶ σοφία καὶ λόγος καὶ υἱὸς καὶ ἄγγελος καὶ Χριστὸς καὶ σωτὴρ καὶ κύριος καὶ ἄνθρωπος καὶ υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου καὶ λίθος ἀκρογωνιαῖος καὶ ἥλιος καὶ προφήτης καὶ ἄρτος καὶ βασιλεὺς καὶ οἰκοδόμος καὶ γεωργὸς καὶ ποιμὴν καὶ ἄμπελος καὶ ὅσα τοιαῦτα. οὕτω, φασί, καὶ τὸ κτίσμα λέγομεν καταχρηστικῶς. δεῖ γὰρ ἡμᾶς ὁμολογεῖν. 35. Φεῦ γε τῆς τοιαύτης κακῆς ὑπονοίας καὶ πανουργίας. μὴ δῴη κύριός τινι τῶν τῆς ἀληθείας υἱῶν ὑπαχθῆναι τῇ τοιαύτῃ εἰρωνείᾳ, ἵνα διὰ τῶν τοιούτων ὑποθέσεων καὶ τὸ τοῦ κτίσματος ὄνομα εἰς τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ εἰσδεξάμενος πεισθῇ καὶ οὕτως ὁμολογεῖν. δότωσαν γὰρ ἡμῖν τούτου τὴν χρῆσιν καὶ * τὴν τῶν λογισμῶν ἀπόδοσιν. πάντα γὰρ ἐκεῖνα καταχρηστικῶς εἴρηται, οὐδὲν εἰς τὴν θεότητα τοῦ υἱοῦ ἐνσκήπτοντα, οὔτε ἐλλιπῆ ποιούμενα πρὸς τὸν πατέρα * τῆς αὐτοῦ οὐσιότητος. κἄν τε θύρα λεχθείη, ἐπειδὴ δι' αὐτοῦ εἰσερχόμεθα, κἄν τε ὁδός, ἐπειδὴ δι' αὐτοῦ βαδίζομεν, κἄν τε στύλος, ἐπειδὴ αὐτός ἐστιν ἑδραίωμα τῆς ἀληθείας, κἄν τε νεφέλη, ἐπειδὴ ἐσκέπασε τοὺς υἱοὺς Ἰσραήλ, κἄν τε στύλος, διὰ τὸ φωτεινὸν τοῦ πυρός, ὃ ἐφώτισεν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, κἄν τε μάννα, ἐπειδὴ ἠρνήσαντο αὐτὸν ἄρτον ἐπουράνιον, κἄν τε ἄρτος, ἐπειδὴ δι' αὐτοῦ ἰσχυροποιούμεθα, κἄν τε ἄγγελος, ἐπειδὴ μεγάλης βουλῆς ἄγγελος, ὁμώνυμον γάρ ἐστι τὸ τοῦ ἀγγέλου ὄνομα· ἐδέξατο γὰρ ἡ Ῥαὰβ τοὺς ἀγγέλους καὶ οὐκ ἦσαν ἄγγελοι οἱ ἀπεσταλμένοι ἀλλ' ἢ οἱ ἀναγγείλαντες περὶ τοῦ τόπου· οὕτω καὶ ὁ μονογενής, ἐπειδὴ ἀνήγγειλε τὸ θέλημα τοῦ πατρὸς 3.184 τοῖς ἀνθρώποις, μεγάλης βουλῆς ἄγγελος, ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ ἀναγγέλλων τὴν μεγάλην βουλήν καὶ λίθος, οὐκ ἀναίσθητος ὁ λίθος, ἀλλὰ καταχρηστικῶς, διὰ τὸ πρόσκομμα γεγονέναι Ἰουδαίοις, ἡμῖν δὲ θεμέλιον σωτηρίας, καὶ ἀκρογωνιαῖος λίθος, διὰ τὸ ἐπισφίγξαι παλαιὰν καὶ νέαν διαθήκην, περιτομήν τε καὶ ἀκροβυστίαν εἰς μίαν ἕνωσιν· ἀμνὸς δὲ διὰ τὸ ἄκακον καὶ τὸ δι' αὐτοῦ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἀπὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἠφανίσθαι ἐν τῷ αὐτὸν τῷ πατρὶ προσενηνέχθαι πρόβατον εἰς σφαγήν, ἐπειδὴ ἦλθεν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν παθεῖν ὁ ἀπαθής, ἵνα ἡμεῖς σωθῶμεν, καὶ εἴ τί ἐστιν ἕτερον ταῖς αὐταῖς χρήσεσι συμβαλλόμενον εἰς σωτηρίαν υἱῶν τῶν ἀνθρώπων, καταχρηστικῶς ἀπὸ τῆς θείας γραφῆς εἰς αὐτὸν ἀναφέρεται. 36. Τί οὖν τὸ κτίσμα ὠφελήσειεν ἢ ποίαν