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in the covenant, that I created for you the Son, but "the Father sent me," and "I came forth from the Father and have come," and "who is in the bosom of the Father," and "the Word was with God, and the Word was God." And it is possible to understand many things concerning our salvation and not to be carried away by this devil’s deceptive teaching. For the devil, wishing to destroy the race of men, being possessed by envy toward the glory of man, devised various schemes: first, through ignorance, 3.351 second, through idolatry, at other times through wickedness, but now lastly through the error and deceit of the heresies, in order that from all sides he might cast down man from heavenly things. 10. How much, then, will the mind of our mediocrity be able to say to you, O Anomoean? For you are well-called Anomoean, who have diverted your ways and thought from men who possess the understanding of God and have the faith of the truth. For not by progressing to good have you become unlike men, but by turning aside from the way of truth you became unlike the sons of the church of God; taking as a pretext the Son of God who is according to His own Father, and saying He is unlike the Father, you have become unlike, having been allotted this name, no longer being like those who are being saved in God. But lest I waste time being worn down by his inquiries, from the words which he himself put forth, writing dialectically to some, come, let us refute the things concerning him. For he seemed to suggest a certain dialectical error in his own treatise, which has not one word of faith, which is most simple and most sincere and adorned in a holy and gentle spirit. And I have placed first his entire supposed little work which came to us, so that from it we might make against him the remaining refutation of his discourse. And it is this: The Little Treatise of Aetius the Anomoean. 11. Since, in the time of the persecution brought upon us by the Chronites, some of the aforementioned, having appropriated with many 3.352 others a little work specially prepared by us concerning unbegotten God and begotten, corrupted and published it with both interpolations and deletions, having changed the logical sequence, and after this it came to us, one of our zealous followers having brought it, I was compelled, as a father, having cleansed it again, to send out the writing to you, O all you pious athletes, both men and women, so that you may know that our little treatise was spoken in accordance with the meaning of the holy scriptures, by which you will be able, with concise refutations, to stop every man who attempts to contradict you concerning unbegotten God and begotten from being shameless, and above all the aforementioned Chronites. And in the form of verses I have set out problem upon problem and solution upon solution because of the easily-grasped and clear nature of the arguments, making the beginning concerning unbegotten God: ˉα. Whether it is possible for the unbegotten God to make the begotten unbegotten. 3.353 ˉβ. If the unbegotten God exists as superior to every cause, for this reason he would also be superior to generation. And if he is superior to every cause, it is clear that he is also superior to generation. For neither from another nature has he received his being nor has he provided his being to himself. ˉγ. But if he did not provide being to himself, not because of the weakness of his nature, but because of having surpassed every cause, whence could anyone concede that the nature which has been substantiated, in relation to the one which substantiated it, has invariability in substance, since such a hypostasis does not admit of generation? ˉδ. If God remains without end in an unbegotten nature and without end the offspring is an offspring, the evil doctrine of *homoousios* and *homoiousios* will be made to disappear. And the incomparability in substance stands, with each nature remaining unceasingly in the proper dignity of its nature. ˉε. If God is unbegotten in his substance, not by division of substance is that which is begotten

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διαθήκῃ, ὅτι ἔκτισα ὑμῖν τὸν υἱόν, ἀλλ' «ὁ πατήρ με ἀπέστειλε», καὶ «ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς ἐξῆλθον καὶ ἥκω», καὶ «ὁ ὢν εἰς τὸν κόλπον τοῦ πατρός», καὶ «ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεὸν καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος». καὶ πολλὰ ἔστι περὶ τῆς ἡμῶν σωτηρίας κατανοῆσαι καὶ μὴ συναρπάζεσθαι ἀπὸ τῆς τοῦ διαβόλου τούτου κυβευτικῆς διδασκαλίας. ὁ γὰρ διάβολος βουλόμενος ἀπολέσαι τὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων γένος, φθόνῳ κατεχόμενος πρὸς τὴν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου δόξαν, μηχανὰς ἐπενόησε διαφόρους· τὸ πρῶτον μὲν διὰ τῆς ἀγνοίας, 3.351 τὸ δεύτερον δὲ διὰ τῆς εἰδωλολατρείας, ἄλλοτε δὲ διὰ κακοτροπίας, νυνὶ δὲ εἰς ὕστερον διὰ τῆς πλάνης καὶ ἀπάτης τῶν αἱρέσεων, ἵνα πανταχόθεν καταστρέψῃ τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἀπὸ τῶν ἐπουρανίων. 10. Πόσα οὖν ἰσχύσει ὁ νοῦς τῆς ἡμῶν μετριότητος εἰπεῖν πρὸς σέ, ὦ Ἀνόμοιε; καλῶς γὰρ Ἀνόμοιος τυγχάνεις, ὁ καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων τοὺς τρόπους καὶ τὴν διάνοιαν παρεκτρέψας τῶν τὴν σύνεσιν τοῦ θεοῦ κεκτημένων καὶ τὴν πίστιν ἐχόντων τῆς ἀληθείας. οὐ γὰρ εἰς ἀγαθὸν προκόψας ἀνόμοιος γέγονας ἀνθρώποις, ἀλλ' ἐκ τῆς ὁδοῦ τῆς ἀληθείας παρεκκλίνας ἀνόμοιος ἐγένου τῶν υἱῶν τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ ἐκκλησίας· πρόφασιν λαβὼν τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ τὸν κατὰ τὸν αὐτοῦ πατέρα ὄντα καὶ ἀνόμοιον πατρὶ λέγων σὺ ἀνόμοιος γέγονας, κληρωθεὶς τοῦτο τὸ ὄνομα, μηκέτι ὅμοιος ὑπάρχων τῶν ἐν θεῷ σῳζομένων. Ἵνα δὲ μὴ περὶ τὰς αὐτοῦ ζητήσεις κατατριβόμενος ἀναλίσκω χρόνον, ἀφ' ὧν λέξεων αὐτὸς ὑφηγήσατο διαλεκτικῶς γράφων τισί, φέρε τὰ κατ' αὐτὸν διελέγξωμεν. ἔδοξε γὰρ διαλεκτικήν τινα ὑποφαίνειν πλάνην ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ αὐτοῦ συντάγματι, τῷ οὐδ' ἕνα λόγον ἔχοντι πίστεως, τῆς ἀφελεστάτης καὶ ἀκεραιοτάτης καὶ ἐν πνεύματι ἁγίῳ καὶ πράῳ κεκοσμημένης. ὅλον δὲ δι' ὅλου τὸ δοκοῦν αὐτοῦ πονημάτιον τὸ εἰς ἡμᾶς ἐλθὸν ἐν πρώτοις κατέταξα, ἵνα ἀπ' αὐτοῦ ποιησώμεθα πρὸς αὐτὸν τὴν λοιπὴν ἀνατροπὴν τῆς διαλέξεως. καὶ ἔστι τόδε· Τὸ συνταγμάτιον τοῦ Ἀνομοίου Ἀετίου. 11. Ἐπειδὴ ἐν καιρῷ τοῦ ἐπενεχθέντος ἡμῖν διωγμοῦ ὑπὸ τῶν Χρονιτῶν τινὲς τῶν προειρημένων σφετερισάμενοι μετὰ καὶ ἄλλων 3.352 πολλῶν πονημάτιον σπουδασθὲν ἡμῖν ἰδιαζόντως περὶ ἀγεννήτου θεοῦ καὶ γεννητοῦ παρενθήκαις τε καὶ ἀφαιρέσεσι διαφθείραντες ἐξέδωκαν, τὴν ἀκόλουθον ἀμείψαντες ἀγωγήν, ἦλθε δὲ μετὰ ταῦτα τοῦτο εἰς ἡμᾶς, τινὸς τῶν σπουδαίων ἡμῖν αὐτὸ προσκεκομικότος, ἠναγκάσθην οἷα πατὴρ αὖθις διακαθάρας ἐκπέμψαι ὑμῖν τὸ σύγγραμμα, ὦ πάντες εὐσεβεῖς ἀθληταί τε καὶ ἀθλήτριαι, ὅπως ἂν εἰδέναι ἔχοιτε κατ' ἔννοιαν τῶν ἁγίων γραφῶν εἰρῆσθαι ἡμῖν τὸ λογίδιον, δι' οὗ πάντα ἄνθρωπον ἀντιλέγειν ὑμῖν ἐπιχειροῦντα περὶ ἀγεννήτου θεοῦ καὶ γεννητοῦ παύειν ἀναισχυντεῖν συντόμοις περιτροπαῖς δυνήσεσθε, πάντων δὲ μᾶλλον τοὺς προειρημένους Χρονίτας. ἐν εἴδει δὲ τῶν στιχηρῶν ἐπαπόρησιν ἐπαπορήσεως διέστησα καὶ λύσιν λύσεως διὰ τὸ εὐπερίδρακτον καὶ σαφὲς τῶν ἐπιχειρημάτων, ποιησάμενος τὴν ἀρχὴν περὶ ἀγεννήτου θεοῦ· ˉα. Εἰ δυνατόν ἐστι τῷ ἀγεννήτῳ θεῷ τὸ γεννητὸν ἀγέννητον ποιῆσαι. 3.353 ˉβ. Εἰ πάσης αἰτίας κρείττων ὑπάρχει ὁ ἀγέννητος θεός, διὰ τοῦτο καὶ γενέσεως κρείττων ἂν εἴη. εἰ δὲ κρείττων ἐστὶ πάσης αἰτίας, δῆλον ὅτι καὶ γενέσεως. οὔτε γὰρ παρ' ἑτέρας φύσεως εἴληφε τὸ εἶναι οὔτε αὐτὸς ἑαυτῷ τὸ εἶναι παρέσχεν. ˉγ. Εἰ δὲ αὐτὸς ἑαυτῷ τὸ εἶναι μὴ παρέσχεν, οὐ διὰ τὸ ἀσθενὲς τῆς φύσεως, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸ ὑπερβεβηκέναι πᾶσαν αἰτίαν, πόθεν ἄν τις τὴν ὑποστᾶσαν πρὸς τὴν ὑποστήσασαν φύσιν τὸ ἀπαράλλακτον εἰς οὐσίαν ἔχειν συγχωρήσειεν, οὐ προσιεμένης τῆς τοιαύτης ὑποστάσεως γένεσιν; ˉδ. Εἰ ἀτελευτήτως ὁ θεὸς διαμένει ἐν ἀγεννήτῳ φύσει καὶ ἀτελευτήτως τὸ γέννημα γέννημά ἐστιν, ἡ τοῦ ὁμοουσίου καὶ ὁμοιοουσίου κακοδοξία παραφανισθήσεται. ἵσταται δὲ τὸ ἐν οὐσίᾳ ἀσύγκριτον, ἑκατέρας φύσεως ἀπαύστως διαμενούσης ἐν τῷ ἰδίῳ τῆς φύσεως ἀξιώματι. ˉε. Εἰ ἀγέννητός ἐστιν ὁ θεὸς τὴν οὐσίαν, οὐκ οὐσίας διαστάσει τὸ γεννηθὲν