519

being drawn out by your evil thought. For cease, and let us cease, holding it sufficient and pious to conceive of God as ever-existing and to believe that God always was. For in this too, speaking and reasoning foolishly, as if you had greatly honored God, you said that he neither provided being for himself nor is he the cause of himself; therefore, according to you, if the salvation of faith comes from words and syllogisms, * having the likeness of reason even in inferior or pitiable bodies. For none of the created things is its own cause or provided being for itself, from beasts up to man, and from men up to angels. For none of those who have come into being provided being for himself, but from the one who is alone, the being of each received its beginning. Therefore, since you have been reasoned with here through the things by which you thought to reason, * do not force yourself to be unnaturally stretched out to what is greater. For you will be paralyzed in every way, the only-begotten being equal and like the Father, even if he has his dignity from being brought forth, that is, begotten from the Father. For in this he will differ in nothing from equality with the Father, just as not from being like, because created things are unable to provide being for themselves, whereas he who is to be preferred and is perfect in all things did not have his beginning 3.367 from something above. For he did not begin to be; for he always was and always is, even if he remains in sameness and did not provide being for himself, not seeking homonymous words, but the contemplation * which is purely directed toward piety. And otherwise. Since you said: "if he did not provide being for himself, it is not because of the weakness of his nature, but because he has transcended all cause," learn yourself also that the name will not be because of the weakness of the Son, but because it is fitting for the one who has begotten that he has the excellence of being consubstantial; for just as it is most fitting for the Father to have transcended all cause, so also for the only one from the only Father, with the only Spirit, the same one Godhead is fitting, being able to receive not even a cause, not because of weakness, but because it has transcended every number of things that have come into being from non-being, the Godhead being one, counted in one name of a triad and proclaimed in one seal of the names of Father and Son and Holy Spirit to those who are being enlightened, and having nothing altered from itself, through the words in truth fulfilling the equality of the name of Father and Son and Holy Spirit. And you said again that "from where would anyone concede that the subsistent nature has unchangeableness in substance with respect to the nature that caused it to subsist, since such a subsistence does not admit of generation," and you neither understand nor have you understood how you have alienated yourself from the knowledge of God, of the truth, not being taught the things of truth by the Holy Spirit, but by worldly wisdom, which has been made foolish, trying to tread upon the things above. For accordingly you yourself will hear that it has become futile for you; "for God knows the reasonings of the wise, that they are futile." For he who begets the hypostatic Word begot him equal to himself and not altered from his own Godhead, not because of the alteration of the offspring, but * because it was altogether improper for us to think that the begetter himself begot the offspring unworthy of himself and unequal and inferior to the begetter. Therefore he said that all things came to be through the Son and hypostatic Word, so that he might not count him among the things that have come into being, but as being like and equal to the Father in everything, because it is fitting for the name of the Father, being always like in substance to the one who is, not being alien, but genuine, as a consubstantial Son begotten from him. 3.368 21. 4. If God abides endlessly in an unbegotten nature and the offspring is endlessly an offspring, the evil opinion of the consubstantial and of the like-in-substance will be set aside. And the incomparability in substance stands, with each nature abiding unceasingly in the proper dignity of its nature. Refutation. If God abides endlessly and unceasingly, as you said, in an unbegotten nature, and the nature of God

519

σῷ κακῷ ἐνθυμήματι παρεκτεινόμενος. πέπαυσο γὰρ καὶ παυσώμεθα, ἀρκετῶς καὶ ὁσίως ἔχοντες τὸ ἀεὶ ὄντα νοεῖν θεὸν καὶ πιστεύειν, ὅτι ἦν ἀεὶ θεός. καὶ γὰρ καὶ ἐν τούτῳ ἀφρόνως φθεγγόμενός τε καὶ συλλογιζόμενος, ὡς μεγάλως τετιμηκὼς τὸν θεόν, ἔφης, ὅτι οὔτε αὐτὸς ἑαυτῷ τὸ εἶναι παρέσχεν οὐδὲ αὐτὸς ἑαυτῷ αἴτιός ἐστιν· ἄρα κατὰ σέ, εἰ ἀπὸ λέξεών ἐστι καὶ συλλογισμῶν ἡ τῆς πίστεως σωτηρία, * ἔχουσα καὶ ἐν τοῖς ὑποδεεστέροις ἢ οἰκτροῖς σώμασι τὴν τοῦ λόγου ὁμοιότητα. οὐδὲν γὰρ τῶν κτισμάτων ἑαυτῷ αἴτιόν ἐστιν ἢ τὸ εἶναι αὐτὸ ἑαυτῷ παρέσχεν, ἀπὸ κνωδάλων ἄχρις ἀνθρώπου καὶ ἀπὸ ἀνθρώπων ἄχρις ἀγγέλων. οὐδεὶς γὰρ τῶν γεγονότων ἑαυτῷ τὸ εἶναι παρέσχεν, ἀλλὰ ἐκ τοῦ ὄντος μόνου τὸ εἶναι ἑκάστου ἔλαβε τὴν ἀρχήν. ὡς οὖν ἐνταῦθα δι' ὧν ἐνόμισας συλλογίζεσθαι * συλλογισθείς, μὴ βιάζου παρὰ φύσιν παρεκτείνεσθαι τῷ μείζονι. παραλυθήσῃ γὰρ κατὰ πάντα, τοῦ μονογενοῦς ἴσου καὶ ὁμοίου ὄντος τῷ πατρί, κἄν τε ἐκ τοῦ τεχθῆναι ἤγουν γεννηθῆναι ἀπὸ πατρὸς ἔχει τὸ ἀξίωμα. οὐδὲν γὰρ διοίσει ἐν τούτῳ τῆς πρὸς τὸν πατέρα ἰσότητος ὥσπερ οὐδὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ ὁμοίου, τῷ μὴ δύνασθαι τὰ γεγονότα ἑαυτοῖς παρασχεῖν τὸ εἶναι, ὡς καὶ ὁ προκριτέος καὶ ἐν ἅπασι τέλειος οὐκ ἀπό τινος ἄνωθεν ἔσχε 3.367 τὴν ἀρχήν. οὐδὲ γὰρ ἤρξατο τοῦ εἶναι· ἦν γὰρ ἀεὶ καὶ ἀεὶ ἔστι, κἄν τε ἐν ταυτότητι μένοι καὶ ἑαυτῷ τὸ εἶναι μὴ παράσχοι, οὐ τῶν ὁμωνύμων λέξεων ζητουμένων, ἀλλὰ τῆς κατὰ τὸ ἀκραιφνὲς πρὸς τὸ εὐσεβὲς * θεωρίας. Καὶ ἄλλως. Ἐπεὶ ἔφης· «εἰ δὲ αὐτὸς ἑαυτῷ τὸ εἶναι μὴ παρέσχεν, οὐ διὰ τὸ ἀσθενὲς τῆς φύσεως, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸ ὑπερβεβηκέναι πᾶσαν αἰτίαν», μάθε καὶ αὐτός, ὅτι οὐ διὰ τὸ ἀσθενὲς τοῦ υἱοῦ ἔσται τὸ ὄνομα, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸ συμπρέπον τῷ γεγεννηκότι ἔχει τῆς ὁμοουσιότητος τὸ ἐξαίρετον· ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ὡς τῷ πατρὶ τὸ ὑπερβεβηκέναι πᾶσαν αἰτίαν πρεπωδέστατόν ἐστιν, οὕτω καὶ τῷ μόνῳ ἐκ μόνου πατρὸς ὄντι σὺν τῷ μόνῳ πνεύματι ἡ αὐτὴ μία θεότης συμπρέπει, μηδὲ αἴτιον ὑποδέχεσθαι δυναμένη, οὐ διὰ τὸ ἀσθενές, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸ ὑπερβεβηκέναι πάντα ἀριθμὸν τῶν ἐξ οὐκ ὄντων γεγονότων, μιᾶς οὔσης τῆς θεότητος ἐν ἑνὶ ὀνόματι τριάδος ἀριθμουμένης καὶ ἐν μιᾷ σφραγῖδι ὀνομάτων πατρὸς καὶ υἱοῦ καὶ ἁγίου πνεύματος τοῖς φωτιζομένοις κηρυττομένης καὶ μηδὲν παρηλλαγμένον ἑαυτῆς ἐχούσης, διὰ τῶν ἐν ἀληθείᾳ λόγων ἰσότητα ὀνομασίας πληρούντων πατρὸς καὶ υἱοῦ καὶ ἁγίου πνεύματος. ἔφης δὲ πάλιν ὅτι «πόθεν ἄν τις τὴν ὑποστᾶσαν πρὸς τὴν ὑποστήσασαν φύσιν τὸ ἀπαράλλακτον εἰς οὐσίαν ἔχειν συγχωρήσειεν, οὐ προσιεμένης τῆς τοιαύτης ὑποστάσεως γένεσιν», καὶ οὔτε νοεῖς οὔτε νενόηκας ὡς ἑαυτὸν ἠλλοτρίωσας ἀπὸ γνώσεως θεοῦ τῆς ἀληθείας, οὐ πνεύματι ἁγίῳ τὰ τῆς ἀληθείας διδασκόμενος, ἀλλὰ σοφίᾳ κοσμικῇ τῇ μωρανθείσῃ τὰ ἄνω ἐμβατεύειν πειρώμενος. ἀκολούθως γὰρ καὶ αὐτὸς ἀκούσεις ὅτι μεματαίωταί σοι· «οἶδε γὰρ ὁ θεὸς τοὺς λογισμοὺς τῶν σοφῶν ὅτι εἰσὶ μάταιοι». ὁ γὰρ γεννῶν τὸν ἐνυπόστατον λόγον ἴσον ἑαυτῷ ἐγέννησε καὶ οὐ παρηλλαγμένον τῆς ἑαυτοῦ θεότητος οὐ διὰ τὴν τοῦ γεννήματος παραλλαγήν, ἀλλ' * ὅτι ἀπρεπὲς ὅλως ἦν τὸ διανοηθῆναι ἡμᾶς ἀνάξιον ἑαυτοῦ καὶ ἄνισον καὶ ὑποβεβηκότα τοῦ γεννήτορος γεγεννηκέναι τὸ γέννημα αὐτὸν τὸν γεγεννηκότα. διὸ διὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ καὶ ἐνυποστάτου λόγου τὰ πάντα γεγονέναι ἔφη, ἵνα αὐτὸν οὐκ ἀπὸ τῶν γεγονότων ἀριθμήσῃ, ἀλλ' ἐν παντὶ πατρὶ ὅμοιον καὶ ἴσον ὄντα διὰ τὸ συμπρέπον τῇ τοῦ πατρὸς ὀνομασίᾳ εἶναι, ἀεὶ ὄντα ὅμοιον τὴν οὐσίαν τῷ ὄντι, οὐ ξένον ὄντα, ἀλλὰ γνήσιον, ὡς υἱὸν ὁμοούσιον ἐξ αὐτοῦ γεγεννημένον. 3.368 21. ˉδ. Εἰ ἀτελευτήτως ὁ θεὸς διαμένει ἐν ἀγεννήτῳ φύσει καὶ ἀτελευτήτως τὸ γέννημα γέννημά ἐστιν, ἡ τοῦ ὁμοουσίου καὶ ὁμοιουσίου κακοδοξία παραφανισθήσεται. ἵσταται δὲ τὸ ἐν οὐσίᾳ ἀσύγκριτον, ἑκατέρας φύσεως ἀπαύστως διαμενούσης ἐν τῷ ἰδίῳ τῆς φύσεως ἀξιώματι. Ἀνατροπή. Εἰ ἀτελευτήτως καὶ ἀπαύστως ὁ θεὸς διαμένει, ὡς ἔφης, ἐν ἀγεννήτῳ φύσει, φύσις δὲ θεοῦ