524

did he beget one who was in need? Cease, therefore, O Aetius, bringing us empty and Aristotelian phrases, since we have sufficiently and are not deceived concerning the true teaching of our Lord, which says that "I came forth from the Father and have come," and the word does not have an improper sense according to its meaning, but signifies the substance of the perfection and dignity of God. 27. 10. If the offspring were perfect, it is an offspring in something begotten and not from those things from which the unbegotten one begot it. For it is not possible for a begotten nature to be in an unbegotten substance. For it is not the same thing to be and not to be. For an offspring is not unbegotten, and being unbegotten, it was not an offspring, since that which is of dissimilar parts in respect to God holds the form of blasphemy and insolence. Refutation. Aetius introduces antithetically, wishing to comprehend God from syllogistic terms of human invention, and † as if from words he attempts to mutilate the sure hope of clear faith, clashing dissimilar with dissimilar and subversively inserting word with word, so as from this to force the meaning of the dissimilarity of the Son to the Father, which is impossible. For from the very syllogisms with which he taught the world, he himself will also be refuted. For he says: "If the offspring were perfect, it is an offspring in something begotten and not from those things from which the unbegotten one begot it. For it is not possible for a begotten nature to be in an unbegotten substance; for it is not the same thing to be and not to be. For an offspring is not unbegotten, and being unbegotten, it was not an offspring, since that which is of dissimilar parts in respect to God holds the form of blasphemy and insolence"; so that from all this the parts of the arguments of his fabrication are refuted, that it is not possible for the Son to be dissimilar to the Father, nor unequal 3.376 to His perfect divinity. For if he speaks forcefully at all, the sayings which he narrates turn back against themselves, always stating the begotten and unbegotten antithetically, from this let him learn to oppose the created and uncreated, that it is not possible for this to have communion with that with respect to the dignity, which is to be worthy of worship at all. For if the dissimilar is at all worthy of worship, being made equal to the dissimilar, no longer will reason distinguish the one from the all, the dissimilar nature not being able to be ranked in the order of its own dignity, even if the one being from all the dissimilars were to be surpassed in glory, with respect to the one, on account of the dissimilarity not having communion of the one of all with the one. And henceforth the sun and moon and stars and earth and things even below these will be worthy of worship and no longer the one with the one Spirit, which is one Trinity and one Godhead and one worship. Therefore, if this must be concluded for this reason, it will be so in truth, since the one Word is not like all words, nor is the one Son equal to all those called so by adoption; for he is not with the all, but the one through whom are all things. At any rate, what was from the beginning impossibly posited by Aetius himself and as holding insolence and the form of blasphemy because of being of dissimilar parts, as he said, is not in God, which is not a part of difference, but of equality, and the Godhead is not divided, but is always most perfect, three perfect beings, one Godhead; rather, he has confirmed for us the dissimilar for the establishment of the faith in truth, so that we do not think or obey those of the Greeks who † fall into error with rash presumption, who are condemned for worshipping all creation, which is dissimilar to the worshipped Father in the Son, Son in Father with the Holy Spirit, to whom be glory for ever. 28. 11. If God the almighty, being of an unbegotten nature, does not know himself to be of a begotten nature, but the Son, being of a begotten nature, knows himself to be that which he is, how would the homoousion not be a falsehood, since the one knows himself as unbegotten, and the other as begotten? Refutation. Aetius spoke and the distinguisher and definer gave his opinion, discoursing concerning the nature of God, being a man by nature and wishing for things beyond 3.377 nature

524

ἐγέννα ἐπιδεόμενον; πέπαυσο οὖν, ὦ Ἀέτιε, κενὰς ἡμῖν καὶ Ἀριστοτελικὰς λέξεις φέρων, ἀρκετῶς ἐχόντων ἡμῶν καὶ μὴ ἀπατωμένων τὴν τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν ἀληθινὴν διδασκαλίαν, τὴν λέγουσαν ὅτι «ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς ἐγὼ ἐξῆλθον καὶ ἥκω», καὶ οὐ καταχρηστικῶς ἐχούσης τῆς λέξεως κατὰ τὴν δύναμιν, ἀλλὰ τελειότητος καὶ ἀξίας θεοῦ σημαινούσης τὴν οὐσίαν. 27. ˉι. Εἰ τέλειον ἦν τὸ γέννημα, ἐν γεννητῷ γέννημά ἐστι καὶ οὐκ ἐξ ὧν ὁ ἀγέννητος αὐτὸ ἐγέννησε. γεννητὴν γὰρ φύσιν ἐν ἀγεννήτῳ οὐσίᾳ οὐκ ἐνδέχεται εἶναι. τὸ γὰρ αὐτὸ εἶναί τε οὐκ ἔστι καὶ μὴ εἶναι. γέννημα γὰρ ἀγέννητον οὐκ ἔστι, καὶ ἀγέννητον ὂν γέννημα οὐκ ἦν, τοῦ ἀνομοιομεροῦς ἐπὶ θεοῦ βλασφημίας τύπον καὶ ὕβριν ἐπέχοντος. Ἀνατροπή. Ἀντιθέτως παρεισάγει Ἀέτιος, ἐκ συλλογιστικῶν ὀνομασιῶν ἀνθρωπίνης ἐπινοίας θεὸν καταλαβεῖν βουλόμενος, καὶ † ὡς ἐκ λέξεων ἀκρωτηριάζειν πειρᾶται τῆς ἐναργοῦς πίστεως τὴν βεβαίαν ἐλπίδα, ἀνόμοιον ἀνομοίῳ συγκρούσας καὶ λέξιν λέξει ἀνατροπικῶς παρενθείς, ὡς ἐκ τούτου βιάζεσθαι τὸ ἀνόμοιον τοῦ υἱοῦ πρὸς πατέρα σημαίνειν, ὅπερ ἐστὶν ἀδύνατον. ἐξ αὐτῶν γὰρ ὧν ἐδίδαξε τὸν κόσμον συλλογισμῶν καὶ αὐτὸς συλλογισθήσεται. φάσκει γάρ· «εἰ τέλειον ἦν τὸ γέννημα, ἐν γεννητῷ γέννημά ἐστι καὶ οὐκ ἐξ ὧν ὁ ἀγέννητος αὐτὸ ἐγέννησε. γεννητὴν γὰρ φύσιν ἐν ἀγεννήτῳ οὐσίᾳ οὐκ ἐνδέχεται εἶναι· τὸ γὰρ αὐτὸ εἶναί τε οὐκ ἔστι καὶ μὴ εἶναι. γέννημα γὰρ ἀγέννητον οὐκ ἔστι, καὶ ἀγέννητον ὂν γέννημα οὐκ ἦν, τοῦ ἀνομοιομεροῦς ἐπὶ θεοῦ βλασφημίας τύπον καὶ ὕβριν ἐπέχοντος»· ὥστε ἐξ ἅπαντος ἐλέγχεσθαι τὰ τῆς παραποιήσεως μέρη τῶν λόγων, ὅτι οὐκ ἐνδέχεται ἀνόμοιον εἶναι τὸν υἱὸν τῷ πατρὶ οὐδ' ἄνισον 3.376 τῆς αὐτοῦ τελείας θεότητος. εἰ γὰρ ὅλως φάσκει βεβιασμένως, καθ' ἑαυτῶν δὲ ἐπιστρέφει τὰ ῥητά, ἃ διηγεῖται, τὸ γεννητὸν καὶ ἀγέννητον ἀντιθέτως ἀεὶ φάσκων, ἀπὸ τούτου μαθέτω ἀντιτιθέναι τὸ κτιστὸν καὶ ἄκτιστον, ὅτι οὐκ ἐνδέχεται ἐπικοινωνεῖν τοῦτο τούτῳ πρὸς τὸ ἀξίωμα, ὅπερ ἐστὶ τὸ εἶναι ὅλως προσκυνητόν. εἰ γὰρ ὅλως προσκυνητὸν τὸ ἀνόμοιον, τῷ ἀνομοίῳ ἐξισούμενον, οὐκέτι διοίσει λόγος τὸν ἕνα ἀπὸ τῶν ὅλων, τῆς ἀνομοίας φύσεως οὐ δυναμένης ἐν τάξει τοῦ αὐτῆς ἀξιώματος τάττεσθαι, κἄν τε ἐν δόξῃ ὑπερβάλλοιτο τὸ ἀπὸ πάντων ἓν ὂν τῶν ἀνομοίων, πρὸς τὴν τὸν ἕνα, διὰ τὴν μὴ ἐπικοινωνοῦσαν τῷ ἑνὶ τῶν πάντων πρὸς τὸν ἕνα ἀνομοιότητα. καὶ ἔσται λοιπὸν καὶ ἥλιος καὶ σελήνη καὶ ἄστρα καὶ γῆ καὶ τούτων ἔτι τὰ ὑποβεβηκότα προσκυνητὰ καὶ οὐκέτι ὁ εἷς σὺν τῷ ἑνὶ πνεύματι, ὅπερ ἐστὶ μία τριὰς καὶ μία θεότης καὶ μία προσκύνησις. ἆρα οὖν εἰ τοῦτο διὰ τοῦτο συλλογιστέον, ἔσται μὲν αὐτὸ ἐν ἀληθείᾳ, ἐπειδὴ οὐχ ὅμοιος ὁ εἷς λόγος τοῖς πᾶσι λόγοις, οὐδὲ ὁ εἷς υἱὸς τοῖς πᾶσι κατὰ ἀναγωγὴν κικλησκομένοις ἴσος· οὐ γάρ ἐστι σὺν τοῖς πᾶσιν, ἀλλ' ὁ δι' οὗ οἱ πάντες. τὸ γοῦν ἀδυνάτως παρ' αὐτῷ τῷ Ἀετίῳ ταχθὲν ἐξ ὑπαρχῆς καὶ ὡς ὕβριν ἐπέχον καὶ τύπον βλασφημίας διὰ τὸ ἀνομοιομερές, ὡς ἔφη, ἐν θεῷ οὐκ εἶναι, ὅπερ οὐ διαφορᾶς μέρος ὑπάρχει, ἀλλ' ἰσότητος, καὶ οὔτε μεριζομένης τῆς θεότητος, ἀλλ' ἀεὶ οὔσης τελειοτάτης, τρία ὄντα τέλεια, μία θεότης· μᾶλλον δὲ εἰς σύστασιν τῆς ἐν ἀληθείᾳ πίστεως τὸ ἀνόμοιον ἡμῖν ἐπησφαλίσατο, εἰς τὸ μὴ νομίζειν μήτε πείθεσθαι τοῖς παρὰ ἀξίαν Ἑλλήνων † πταίειν προπετείας προλήψει, κατεγνωσμένοις τὴν πᾶσαν κτίσιν προσκυνεῖν, τὴν ἀνόμοιον οὖσαν πρὸς τὸν προσκυνούμενον πατέρα ἐν υἱῷ, υἱὸν ἐν πατρὶ σὺν ἁγίῳ πνεύματι, ᾧ ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας. 28. ˉιˉα. Εἰ ἀγεννήτου φύσεως ὑπάρχων θεὸς ὁ παντοκράτωρ γεννητῆς φύσεως οὐκ οἶδεν ἑαυτόν, ὁ δὲ υἱὸς γεννητῆς φύσεως ὑπάρχων τοῦτο γινώσκει ἑαυτὸν ὅπερ ἐστί, πῶς οὐκ ἂν εἴη τὸ ὁμοούσιον ψεῦδος, τοῦ μὲν γινώσκοντος ἑαυτὸν ἀγέννητον, τοῦ δὲ γεννητόν; Ἀνατροπή. Ἔφησεν Ἀέτιος καὶ ἀπεφήνατο ὁ διαστολεὺς καὶ ὁροθέτης περὶ φύσεως θεοῦ διαλαμβάνων, ἄνθρωπος ὢν τῇ φύσει καὶ τὰ ὑπὲρ 3.377 φύσιν βουλόμενος