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to know, but to know not according to the sequence of scripture, but from the syllogisms of mortal thoughts, that “God the almighty, being of an unbegotten nature, does not know himself to be of a begetting nature.” And always, ever and from the beginning of his argument, no longer according to the old Arians does he wish to call the only-begotten Son, even hiddenly. But in all things consider, sons of the truth, how he wishes him to be completely alien from the Father and in no way partaking of the divine essence, from those things which he always boldly utters. For to say that God knows himself to be unbegotten and does not know himself to be of a begetting nature, has been said by him in vain and only so that the Son might not be called Son even by a bare word. But his argument will be overturned. For the Father is unbegotten and eternally begot the only-begotten, being of a nature befitting himself, * in that he has begotten one only, the only-begotten, and has brought forth Spirit, the only with the only, with the only-begotten the begetter, which co-exists with the Son begotten without beginning, being spirit, having begotten spirit, and not being a body corporeally extended, nor waning and waxing and undergoing division. Therefore among all others who have begotten and are begotten † but in many cases necessity allows it, but here the worth of the one to the one is not similar to all beings. Therefore also he who was begotten exceptionally from him who begot wondrously, as from the unbegotten he has been begotten, being comely to the begetter, so also he himself does not beget, no longer according to substance I say, so that from the Son no longer begetting according to substance and from the Father not having been begotten, from both sides the whole glory of the dignity might be preserved in the one unity of the dignity of God, of a perfect Father and a perfect Son and a perfect Holy Spirit. And for this reason, the divine scripture does not know the homoousion to be a lie, nor does the pious reasoning that has piously learned concerning the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit to glorify and worship, having received grace from God. 29. 12. If “unbegotten” does not represent the hypostasis of God, but the incomparable name is of human conception, God is grateful to those who conceived it on account of the conception of “unbegotten,” not bearing the superiority of the name in his essence. 3.378 Refutation. And “unbegotten,” as we said addressing Aetius, we confess and do not deny, even if it is not found in divine scripture, because it has been piously conceived. But while affirming the Father is unbegotten, we also confess him unbegotten, but we do not deny the Son is begotten, but not created. For neither, if we define the Son as begotten, are we able to deny that he has his substance from God the Father; for he begot in the manner of begetting and did not create. For as you wish to turn yourself aside by thinking crookedly about everything concerning the begotten and the unbegotten, for it is nothing else, so also you yourself hear about human syllogisms and syllogistic antithesis, and of human vanity, that “the thought of man is intently set on evil things from his youth.” And we ourselves will say that it is much more an impropriety for God the uncreated to create the things that were created and for the unmade to make; for it is not possible for the uncreated to create and for the one who has not come into being to make the things that will be, if it is not proper for the unbegotten to beget according to the argument of Aetius. And with creations being seen and the greatest part of existing substance appearing, and since it is not proper for God the uncreated to have created, so that the incomparable, brought to bear on the change of things that have come to be, might not be considered rather improper instead of proper by Aetius, it will then be sought that there is another god who is uncreated, and another who is created and able to create analogously to himself. And since the one who has been created and has the power to create is not self-caused, but has been created, another will also be sought who has become the cause of this one, and from this one another will be conceived. And great will be the abyss of error

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εἰδέναι, εἰδέναι δὲ οὐ κατὰ ἀκολουθίαν γραφῆς, ἀλλ' ἐκ συλλογισμῶν βροτείων διανοημάτων, ὅτι «ἀγεννήτου φύσεως ὑπάρχων θεὸς ὁ παντοκράτωρ γεννητῆς φύσεως οὐκ οἶδεν ἑαυτόν». πάντοτε δὲ ἀεὶ καὶ ἀπ' ἀρχῆς τοῦ λόγου οὐκέτι κατὰ τοὺς παλαιοὺς Ἀρειανοὺς κἂν ἀποκεκρυμμένως υἱὸν βούλεται λέγειν τὸν μονογενῆ. ἐν πᾶσι δὲ θεωρήσατε, υἱοὶ τῆς ἀληθείας, ὡς παντάπασι βούλεται αὐτὸν ἀλλότριον εἶναι τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ οὐδ' ὅλως μετέχοντα θεϊκῆς οὐσίας, ἐξ ὧν πάντοτε τολμηρῶς ἀποφθέγγεται. τὸ γὰρ λέγειν ὅτι ὁ θεὸς ἑαυτὸν ἀγέννητον γινώσκει καὶ γεννητικῆς φύσεως οὐκ οἶδεν ἑαυτόν, μάτην παρ' αὐτῷ εἴρηται καὶ μόνον διὰ τὸ μὴ κἂν διὰ ψιλῆς λέξεως υἱὸν τὸν υἱὸν καλεῖσθαι. ἀνατραπήσεται δὲ αὐτοῦ ὁ λόγος. καὶ γὰρ ἀγέννητός ἐστιν ὁ πατὴρ καὶ ἐγέννησεν ἀϊδίως τὸν μονογενῆ, φύσεως ὢν ἑαυτῷ πρεπούσης, * τῷ ἕνα μόνον τὸν μονογενῆ γεγεννηκέναι καὶ πνεῦμα ἐνηνοχέναι, τὸ μόνον μόνῳ συνὸν ἐπὶ μονογενεῖ τῷ γεννήτορι, ὃ τῷ ἀνάρχως γεγεννημένῳ υἱῷ συνυπάρχει, πνεῦμα ὤν, πνεῦμα γεγεννηκώς, καὶ οὐ σῶμα ὢν σωματικῶς διαστελλόμενον, οὐδὲ φθίνον καὶ αὖξον καὶ τομὴν ὑφιστάμενον. διὸ παρὰ τοῖς ἄλλοις πᾶσι τοῖς γεγεννηκόσι καὶ γεννωμένοις † ἀλλ' ἐπὶ πολλῶν ἐπιδέχεται ἡ χρεία, ἐνταῦθα δὲ οὐχ ὅμοιον τοῖς οὖσι πᾶσιν ἡ τοῦ ἑνὸς πρὸς τὸν ἕνα ἀξία. διὸ καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ γεννηθεὶς ἐξαιρέτως ἐκ τοῦ ἐκπλήκτως γεννήσαντος ὥσπερ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀγεννήτου γεγέννηται, συμπρέπων τῷ γεννήτορι, οὕτως καὶ αὐτὸς οὐ γεννᾷ οὐκέτι κατὰ τὴν οὐσίαν φημί, ἵνα ἀπὸ τοῦ μηκέτι γεννᾶν κατ' οὐσίαν τὸν υἱὸν καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ τὸν πατέρα μὴ γεγεννῆσθαι ἐξ ἑκατέρων μερῶν ἡ πᾶσα δόξα τοῦ ἀξιώματος σῴζηται ἐν τῇ μιᾷ ἑνότητι τῆς ἀξίας θεοῦ, πατρὸς τελείου καὶ υἱοῦ τελείου καὶ τελείου πνεύματος ἁγίου. καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τὸ ὁμοούσιον οὐ ψεῦδος οἶδεν ἡ θεία γραφὴ οὐδὲ ὁ εὐσεβὴς λογισμὸς ὁ περὶ πατρὸς καὶ υἱοῦ καὶ ἁγίου πνεύματος εὐσεβῶς μεμαθηκὼς τὸ δοξάζειν καὶ προσκυνεῖν, ἐκ θεοῦ λαβὼν τὴν χάριν. 29. ˉιˉβ. Εἰ μὴ τὸ ἀγέννητον τὴν ὑπόστασιν τοῦ θεοῦ παρίστησιν, ἀλλ' ἐπινοίας ἐστὶν ἀνθρωπίνης τὸ ἀσύγκριτον ὄνομα, χάριν τοῖς ἐπινοήσασι γινώσκει ὁ θεὸς διὰ τὴν τοῦ ἀγεννήτου ἐπίνοιαν, τὴν ὑπεροχὴν τοῦ ὀνόματος οὐ φέρων ἐν οὐσίᾳ. 3.378 Ἀνατροπή. Καὶ τὸ ἀγέννητον, ὡς ἔφαμεν πρὸς τὸν Ἀέτιον ἀποτεινόμενοι, ὁμολογοῦμεν καὶ οὐκ ἀρνούμεθα, κἄν τε ἐν θείᾳ γραφῇ μὴ ἐμφέρηται, ὅτι εὐσεβῶς δὲ ἐπινενόηται. ἀγέννητον δὲ φάσκοντες τὸν πατέρα καὶ ἀγέννητον ὁμολογοῦμεν, γεννητὸν δὲ τὸν υἱὸν οὐκ ἀρνούμεθα, ἀλλ' οὐχὶ κτιστόν. οὔτε γάρ, ἐὰν τὸν υἱὸν γεννητὸν ὁρισώμεθα, ἐκ θεοῦ πατρὸς τὴν οὐσίαν ἔχειν ἀρνεῖσθαι δυνάμεθα· γεννητῶς γὰρ ἐγέννησε καὶ οὐκ ἔκτισεν. ὡς γὰρ λοξῶς πάντα ἐπὶ τοῦ γεννητοῦ καὶ ἀγεννήτου διανοούμενος παρεκτρέπειν ἑαυτὸν βούλει οὐ γάρ τι ἕτερον, οὕτως καὶ αὐτὸς ἀκούεις περὶ ἀνθρωπίνων συλλογισμῶν καὶ ἀντιθέσεως συλλογιστικῆς, ἀνθρωπείας τε ματαιοφροσύνης, τὸ «ἔγκειται ἡ διάνοια τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐπὶ τὰ πονηρὰ ἐπιμελῶς ἐκ νεότητος». λέξομεν δὲ καὶ αὐτοὶ ὅτι πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἀπρέπεια θεῷ τῷ ἀκτίστῳ τὸ κτίζειν τὰ κτισθέντα καὶ τῷ ἀποιήτῳ τὸ ποιεῖν· οὐ γὰρ ἐνδέχεται τὸν ἄκτιστον κτίζειν καὶ τὸν μὴ γενόμενον ποιεῖν τὰ ἐσόμενα, εἰ οὐ πρέπει τῷ ἀγεννήτῳ τὸ γεννᾶν κατὰ τὸν Ἀετίου λόγον. τῶν δὲ κτίσεων ὁρωμένων καὶ τοῦ πλείστου μέρους τῆς οὔσης ὑποστάσεως φαινομένης, θεῷ δὲ τῷ ἀκτίστῳ κατὰ τὸ ὑπ' αὐτοῦ κεκτίσθαι μὴ πρεπούσης, ἵνα μὴ τὸ ἀσύγκριτον ἐπὶ μεταβολὴν τῶν γενομένων παρενεχθὲν ἀντὶ τοῦ πρέποντος παρὰ τῷ Ἀετίῳ ἀπρεπὲς μᾶλλον νομισθείη, ζητηθήσεται λοιπὸν ἕτερος ὢν θεὸς ὁ ἄκτιστος, ἕτερος δὲ ὁ κτισθεὶς καὶ κτίζειν ἀναλόγως ἑαυτῷ δυνάμενος. τοῦ δὲ κεκτισμένου καὶ τοῦ κτίζειν δύναμιν ἔχοντος αὐτομάτου μὴ ὄντος, ἀλλὰ κεκτισμένου, ζητηθήσεται καὶ ἕτερος ὁ τούτου αἴτιος γεγονὼς καὶ ἀπὸ τούτου ἄλλος ἐπινοηθήσεται. καὶ πολλὴ ἔσται ἡ τοῦ βυθοῦ τῆς πλάνης