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of those who are able to reason. For he said, "I came proclaiming to you the mystery of God, not in wisdom of speech, lest the cross of Christ be emptied." Therefore, let him who demands reasonings for the mystery in wisdom of speech, having his portion with the wisdom that has been made foolish, disbelieve the mystery, since, even if that man disbelieves in wisdom of speech, Paul * "lest the cross of Christ be emptied." But if in these things he answers, not in wisdom of speech, 3.276 but having refuted all syllogistic wisdom as foolishness through unreasoning power, he takes faith alone for the salvation of those who receive the proclamation. Nor does he answer how the Father begets the Son impassibly, lest the mystery of the sonship of the Only-begotten from the Father be emptied, but refuting the wisdom of the wise which is made foolish, as it is written, "Where is the wise man, where is the scribe, where is the debater of this age?", not in wisdom of speech, lest through the things suspected from reasonings the mystery be emptied, I mean the pious concept concerning the Father and the Son, but he preaches without syllogisms Father and Son impassibly, the Father having begotten the Son from himself without emanation and passion, and the Son, like and according to essence from the Father, perfect from perfect, having subsisted as only-begotten, things believed by the faithful or suspected by the unfaithful. For it is among the absurdities for one who hears of Wisdom subsisting from the wise God, as he wisely knows how to become the Father of the Wisdom begotten from himself, to think of passion in the Father in the subsisting of Wisdom, if Wisdom is to subsist from him according to essence, like the wise one. For if neither the wise God is understood by us to be wise compositely by partaking of wisdom, but is himself uncompositely wise, he is essence, nor is the Son the wisdom by which he is understood, but Wisdom is essence from a wise essence, that is Wisdom, the Son having subsisted as essence will be like and according to the essence of the wise Father, from whom the Son subsisted as Wisdom. 7. Wherefore the blessed Paul, being accustomed, well educated in the things of the Hebrews, to draw the same concepts from the same Spirit who spoke in the old and new covenant, just as from the two psalms, from the one saying "your judgments are a great abyss" and from the one "your paths are in many waters, and your tracks will not be known," he changed the discourse concerning the judgments of God, putting "O the depth of the riches" in place of "a great abyss," and "unsearchable" in place of "your paths are in many waters, and your tracks will not be known," and in place of "your judgments are a great abyss" "your judgments are un3.277 searchable," so also having learned from Wisdom herself the concept concerning herself and the Father and the relation to these created things, in his own writings he presents to us the concept concerning the Father and the Son and the things made from the Father through the Son. For when Wisdom said, "I, wisdom, dwelt with counsel" and the rest, and passed on to the discourse of "through whom," for she said "through me kings" and "if I announce to you the things through me, I will remember to number the things from eternity" and said "the Lord created me as the beginning of his ways for his works, before the age he founded me, and before all things he begets me," the apostle took "first" in place of "beginning," and "born" in place of "begets me," and in place of the whole together "he created me as the beginning of his ways and he begets me" he took "firstborn of all creation," and in place of "he founded" "in him all things were created," and in place of "through me the things from eternity," "whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities; all things were created through him and for him." Since all the apostolic expressions, therefore, are equivalent word for word to those from Wisdom, that is, "beginning" to "first" and "begets" to "born," and "he created me as the beginning of his ways for his works" to "firstborn of all creation," and in place of "he founded me" "in him were created," and in place of "through me the things from eternity" "all things through him," it is clear that "the image" is also not in passion *,

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συλλογίζεσθαι δυναμένων. εἴρηκε γὰρ «ἦλθον καταγγέλλων ὑμῖν τὸ μυστήριον τοῦ θεοῦ, οὐκ ἐν σοφίᾳ λόγου, ἵνα μὴ κενωθῇ ὁ σταυρὸς τοῦ Χριστοῦ». ὁ οὖν ἐν σοφίᾳ λόγου λογισμοὺς ἀπαιτῶν τὸ μυστήριον, μετὰ τῆς μωρανθείσης σοφίας ἔχων τὸ μέρος ἀπιστείτω τῷ μυστηρίῳ, ὅτε, κἂν ἐκεῖνος ἀπιστεῖται ἐν σοφίᾳ λόγου, ὁ Παῦλος * «ἵνα μὴ κενωθῇ ὁ σταυρὸς τοῦ Χριστοῦ». εἰ δὲ ἐν τούτοις ἀποκρίνεται, οὐκ ἐν σοφίᾳ λόγου, 3.276 ἀλλὰ μωρίαν πᾶσαν συλλογιστικὴν σοφίαν ἐλέγξας διὰ τῆς ἀσυλλογίστου δυνάμεως, τὴν πίστιν μόνην λαμβάνει πρὸς σωτηρίαν τῶν τὸ κήρυγμα δεχομένων. οὐδὲ ἀποκρίνεται πῶς ὁ πατὴρ ἀπαθῶς γεννᾷ τὸν υἱόν, ἵνα μὴ κενωθῇ τὸ μυστήριον τῆς ἐκ πατρὸς υἱότητος τοῦ μονογενοῦς, ἀλλὰ μωραινομένην τὴν σοφίαν τῶν συνετῶν καθὰ γέγραπται «ποῦ σοφός, ποῦ γραμματεύς, ποῦ συζητητὴς τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου;» ἐλέγχων, οὐκ ἐν σοφίᾳ λόγου, ἵνα μὴ διὰ τὰ ἐκ λογισμῶν ὑποπτευόμενα κενωθῇ τὸ μυστήριον, φημὶ δὲ ἡ εὐσεβὴς ἔννοια ἡ περὶ πατρὸς καὶ υἱοῦ, ἀλλ' ἀπαθῶς πατέρα καὶ υἱόν, πατέρα μὲν ἐξ ἑαυτοῦ γεγεννηκότα ἄνευ ἀπορροίας καὶ πάθους τὸν υἱόν, υἱὸν δὲ ὅμοιον καὶ κατ' οὐσίαν ἐκ τοῦ πατρός, τέλειον ἐκ τελείου, μονογενῆ ὑποστάντα, πιστευόμενα τοῖς πιστοῖς ἢ ὑποπτευόμενα τοῖς ἀπίστοις ἀσυλλογίστως κηρύττει. τῶν γὰρ ἀτόπων ἐστὶν ἐκ σοφοῦ θεοῦ σοφίαν ὑφισταμένην ἀκούοντα, ὡς σοφῶς οἶδε τῆς ἐξ ἑαυτοῦ γεννηθείσης σοφίας γενέσθαι πατήρ, πάθος ἐννοεῖν πατρὶ ἐν τῷ τὴν σοφίαν ὑφίστασθαι, εἰ μέλλοι ἐξ αὐτοῦ κατ' οὐσίαν ὁμοία τῷ σοφῷ ἡ σοφία ὑφίστασθαι. εἰ γὰρ μήτε ὁ σοφὸς θεὸς μεθέξει σοφίας συνθέτως σοφὸς ἡμῖν νοεῖται, ἀλλ' ἀσυνθέτως αὐτός ἐστι σοφός, οὐσία ἐστί, μήτε ἡ σοφία ἐστὶν ὁ υἱός, ἐξ ἧς νοεῖται, ἀλλὰ ἡ σοφία οὐσία ἐστὶν ἀπὸ σοφοῦ οὐσίας, ὅ ἐστι σοφία, οὐσία ὁ υἱὸς ὑποστὰς ὁμοία ἔσται καὶ κατ' οὐσίαν τοῦ σοφοῦ πατρός, ἀφ' οὗπερ ὑπέστη σοφία ὁ υἱός. 7. ∆ιὸ καὶ εἰωθὼς ὁ μακάριος Παῦλος, καλῶς τὰ Ἑβραίων πεπαιδευμένος, ἀπὸ τοῦ αὐτοῦ πνεύματος τοῦ ἐν παλαιᾷ καὶ καινῇ διαθήκῃ λαλήσαντος τὰς αὐτὰς ἕλκειν ἐννοίας, ὥσπερ ἀπὸ τῶν δύο ψαλμῶν, ἀπὸ τοῦ τε λέγοντος «τὰ κρίματά σου ἄβυσσος πολλή» καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ «αἱ τρίβοι σου ἐν ὕδασι πολλοῖς, καὶ τὰ ἴχνη σου οὐ γνωσθήσονται» τὸν περὶ κριμάτων τοῦ θεοῦ λόγον μετέβαλε, ἀντὶ μὲν τοῦ «ἄβυσσος πολλή» τὸ «ὦ βάθος πλούτου» θέμενος, ἀντὶ δὲ τοῦ «αἱ τρίβοι σου ἐν ὕδασι πολλοῖς, καὶ τὰ ἴχνη σου οὐ γνωσθήσονται» τὸ «ἀνεξιχνίαστοι», ἀντὶ δὲ τοῦ «τὰ κρίματά σου ἄβυσσος πολλή» τὸ «ἀνεξ3.277 ερεύνητα τὰ κρίματά σου,» οὕτω καὶ παρ' αὐτῆς τῆς σοφίας τὴν περὶ ἑαυτῆς καὶ τοῦ πατρὸς ἔννοιαν καὶ τὴν πρὸς τάδε τὰ γενόμενα σχέσιν μαθών, ἐν τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ ἡμῖν τὴν περὶ πατρὸς καὶ υἱοῦ καὶ τῶν ἐκ πατρὸς δι' υἱοῦ γεγονότων παρίστησιν ἔννοιαν. τῆς γὰρ σοφίας εἰπούσης «ἐγὼ ἡ σοφία κατεσκήνωσα βουλήν» καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς, καὶ μεταβάσης εἰς τὸν δι' οὗ λόγον εἴρηκε γὰρ «δι' ἐμοῦ βασιλεῖς» καὶ τὸ «ἐὰν ἀναγγείλω ὑμῖν τὰ δι' ἐμοῦ, μνημονεύσω τὰ ἀπ' αἰῶνος ἀριθμῆσαι» καὶ εἰπούσης «κύριος ἔκτισέ με ἀρχὴν ὁδῶν αὐτοῦ εἰς ἔργα αὐτοῦ, πρὸ τοῦ αἰῶνος ἐθεμελίωσέ με, πρὸ δὲ πάντων γεννᾷ με», ἀντὶ μὲν τοῦ «ἀρχήν» ἔλαβεν ὁ ἀπόστολος τὸ «πρῶτος», ἀντὶ δὲ τοῦ «γεννᾷ με» τὸ «τόκος», ἀντὶ δὲ τοῦ ὅλου ὁμοῦ τοῦ «ἔκτισέ με ἀρχὴν ὁδῶν αὐτοῦ καὶ γεννᾷ με» τὸ «πρωτότοκος πάσης κτίσεως», ἀντὶ δὲ τοῦ «ἐθεμελίωσε» τὸ «ἐν αὐτῷ ἐκτίσθη τὰ πάντα», ἀντὶ δὲ τοῦ «δι' ἐμοῦ τὰ ἀπ' αἰῶνος», τὸ «εἴτε θρόνοι εἴτε κυριότητες εἴτε ἀρχαὶ εἴτε ἐξουσίαι· τὰ πάντα δι' αὐτοῦ καὶ εἰς αὐτὸν ἔκτισται». πάντων οὖν πρὸς λέξιν ἐξισαζόντων τῶν ἀποστολικῶν πρὸς τὰ παρὰ τῆς σοφίας, τουτέστι τοῦ τε «ἀρχήν» πρὸς τὸ «πρῶτος» καὶ τοῦ «γεννᾷ» πρὸς τὸ «τόκος», καὶ τοῦ «ἔκτισέ με ἀρχὴν ὁδῶν αὐτοῦ εἰς ἔργα αὐτοῦ» πρὸς τὸ «πρωτότοκος πάσης κτίσεως», ἀντὶ δὲ τοῦ «ἐθεμελίωσέ με» τὸ «ἐν αὐτῷ ἐκτίσθη», ἀντὶ δὲ τοῦ «δι' ἐμοῦ τὰ ἀπ' αἰῶνος» τὸ «πάντα δι' αὐτοῦ», φανερὸν ὅτι καὶ ἡ «εἰκὼν» οὐκ ἐν πάθει *,