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having a change in each of those having positive states, even if you will compel us to speak of a state concerning God, O Aetius, and there is neither anything more honorable nor later in origin in God, but as many things as are fitting to the dignity for doxology, to the one divinity there is also one doxology and one honor, “that they may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father,” and that they may not blaspheme the Spirit, on account of the word of threat 3.391 which does not forgive their sin here and in the age to come; so that it is fitting to think or be pious or glorify nothing differently concerning the Trinity, but in the Father “Father,” in the Son “Son,” in the Holy Spirit “Holy Spirit,” to speak thus and thus in truth to glorify, just as the true faith deems it worthy to fittingly render veneration worshipfully to the one Trinity and to know its dignity. And neither does the unbegotten need the begotten to be contributed to its own substance, so that the offspring might become a cause of substance for it, as indicative of substance, nor is the substance of the begotten a state of the unbegotten nature, nor is it so called. For the Trinity needs nothing, nor does it receive any addition. For neither because the Trinity itself always was and none of the created things existed, did the Father, for this reason, for the sake of an allotment or of some acquired name or of an addition to his dignity, devise for himself to create through the Son heaven and earth and all things visible and invisible, and by his Spirit to establish all the power of those things created by him, so that from the created things being created and the things that have come into being being crafted an additional contribution might be made to the Father who is called Creator and Maker, and might be understood acquisitively for the Son, through whom and from whom created things have come into being, or for the Holy Spirit, in whom the things established have been established. For God did not work the things that were worked by turning from one state to another, and being altered in nature and in substance, or as according to a conception and a changeable mind. For he had in himself that which is always creative and perfect and in need of no acquisition of glory. And just as in the case of created things, it is not necessary for one thinking about God to consider the dignity of the substance and glory of God to be of an acquired state and worth, so Aetius will be refuted, wishing to reason about God according to the unbegotten and begotten and according to the argument he brings against us concerning his state and substance, with all created things being confessed to be truly and not devised for the sake of an acquisition of glory for God who is without need, just as also in the case of the only-begotten and in the case of his holy Spirit it is not possible to say the same as of created things; for it is inadmissible to say this. But since 3.392 Aetius comes bringing us syllogisms, speaking loftily and daringly stretching out toward things above, but reasoning by counter-syllogism from created things below, he himself also will be found to be nothing * according to his syllogistic argument; for the wisdom of men passes away and the syllogistic speech of men is buried; “for his spirit will go forth and he will return to his dust.” For all syllogistic things of men pass away, and men will pass away along with the syllogistic of Aetius and * the practice of technical skill according to faith. But there remains his † syllogistic faith and hope and love, according to what is written. 39. 22. If every substance is unbegotten such as that of God the Almighty, how would one call the one passible, and the other impassible? But if by the allotment of an unbegotten nature the one remains superior to quantity and quality and, simply put, to all change, while the other is subject to passions, but having been granted to have unchangeableness in substance by the one who loves granting it spontaneously according to the things said before, it would at least be consistent to call the active one unbegotten, but the one that is changed, begotten. Refutation. We do not say that every substance is unbegotten, nor that every one is begotten from God, because the one who begot the one begotten from him and sent forth from

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τροπὴν ἐχούσας ἐν ἑκάστῳ τῶν τὰς θετικὰς ἕξεις ἐχόντων, εἰ καὶ ἕξιν περὶ θεοῦ λέγειν ἀναγκάσεις ἡμᾶς, ὦ Ἀέτιε, καὶ οὔτε τι ἐν θεῷ προτιμότερον οὔτε μεταγενέστερον, ἀλλ' ὅσα πρέπει τῷ ἀξιώματι πρὸς δοξολογίαν, τῇ μὲν μιᾷ θεότητι καὶ μία δοξολογία καὶ μία τιμή, «ἵνα τιμῶσι τὸν υἱόν, ὥσπερ τιμῶσι τὸν πατέρα», καὶ ἵνα μὴ βλασφημῶσι τὸ πνεῦμα, διὰ τὸν τῆς ἀπειλῆς λόγον τὸν μὴ 3.391 τὴν ἁμαρτίαν αὐτοῖς συγχωροῦντα ὧδε καὶ ἐν τῷ μέλλοντι αἰῶνι· ὡς πρεπόντως ἐστὶν οὐδὲν διηλλαγμένως ἔστι περὶ τὴν τριάδα νοεῖν ἢ εὐσεβεῖν ἢ δοξάζειν, ἐν πατρὶ δὲ τὸ πατήρ, ἐν υἱῷ δὲ τὸ υἱός, ἐν ἁγίῳ πνεύματι τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα οὕτως λέγειν καὶ οὕτως ἐν ἀληθείᾳ δοξάζειν, ὥσπερ πρεπόντως τῇ μιᾷ τριάδι προσκυνητῶς τὸ σέβας νέμειν ἀξιοῖ ἡ ἀληθινὴ πίστις καὶ τὸ ἀξίωμα γινώσκειν. καὶ οὔτε τὸ ἀγέννητον τοῦ γεννητοῦ δέεται εἰς τὸ συνεισφέρεσθαι ἑαυτοῦ τῇ οὐσίᾳ, ἵνα αἴτιον οὐσίας αὐτῷ γένηται ὡς οὐσίας δηλωτικὸν τὸ γέννημα, οὔτε ἕξις τῆς ἀγεννήτου φύσεως ἡ οὐσία τοῦ γεγεννημένου ἐστὶν ἢ λέγεται. Οὐδενὸς γὰρ ἡ τριὰς δεῖται οὔτε προσθήκην τινὸς λαμβάνει. οὔτε γὰρ ἐπειδὴ αὐτὴ ἡ τριὰς ἦν ἀεὶ καὶ οὐδὲν ἦν τῶν κεκτισμένων, παρὰ τοῦτο ἀποκληρώσεως ἕνεκεν ἢ προσληπτικῆς τινος ὀνομασίας ἢ προσθήκης τῷ ἀξιώματι ἑαυτῷ ἐπενόησεν ὁ πατὴρ δι' υἱοῦ μὲν κτίσαι οὐρανὸν καὶ γῆν καὶ πάντα ὁρατά τε καὶ ἀόρατα, καὶ τῷ πνεύματι αὐτοῦ στερεῶσαι πᾶσαν τὴν δύναμιν αὐτῶν τῶν ὑπ' αὐτοῦ κεκτισμένων, ἵνα ἐκ τοῦ κεκτίσθαι τὰ κεκτισμένα καὶ δημιουργηθῆναι τὰ γεγονότα ἐπισυνεισφορὰ γένηται τῷ κτίστῃ ἀκούοντι καὶ δημιουργῷ πατρὶ καὶ προσληπτικῶς νοηθείη τῷ υἱῷ, δι' οὗ καὶ ἀφ' οὗ τὰ κεκτισμένα γεγένηται, ἢ τῷ ἁγίῳ πνεύματι, ἐν ᾧ τὰ ἐστερεωμένα ἐστερέωται. καὶ γὰρ οὐ τραπεὶς ἀπὸ ἕξεως εἰς ἕξιν θεὸς καὶ τῇ φύσει καὶ τῇ οὐσίᾳ ἀλλοιωθεὶς ἢ ὡς κατ' ἔννοιαν καὶ μετάβολον γνώμην εἰργάσατο τὰ εἰργασμένα. εἶχε γὰρ ἐν ἑαυτῷ τὸ ἀεὶ δημιουργικὸν καὶ τέλειον καὶ μηδεμιᾶς ἐπιδεόμενον προσλήψεως δόξης. καὶ ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τῶν κτισμάτων οὐ δεῖ διανοούμενόν τινα περὶ θεοῦ προσληπτικῆς ἕξεως καὶ ἀξίας νομίζειν εἶναι τὸ ἀξίωμα τῆς οὐσίας καὶ δόξης θεοῦ, οὕτως ἀνακρουσθήσεται Ἀέτιος, βουλόμενος θεὸν συλλογίζεσθαι κατὰ τὸ ἀγέννητον καὶ γεννητὸν καὶ κατὰ τὸν περὶ ἕξεως καὶ οὐσίας αὐτοῦ ἐπιφερόμενον ἡμῖν λόγον, ὁμολογουμένων πάντων τῶν κεκτισμένων εἶναι ἀληθῶς καὶ οὐχ ἕνεκεν προσλήψεως δόξης θεῷ τῷ ἀνενδεεῖ ἐπινοηθέντων, ὥσπερ καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ μονογενοῦς καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἁγίου αὐτοῦ πνεύματος οὐ τὸ ἴσον ἔστι λέγειν τῶν κτιστῶν· ἀνένδεκτον γὰρ τοῦτο λέγειν. ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ 3.392 συλλογισμοὺς ἥκει φέρων ἡμῖν Ἀέτιος μεταρσιολεκτῶν καὶ πρὸς τὰ ἄνω τολμηρῶς ἀποτεινόμενος, ἀπὸ δὲ τῶν κάτω ἀντισυλλογιζόμενος κτισμάτων, καὶ αὐτὸς μηδὲν εὑρεθήσεται * κατὰ τὸν συλλογιστικὸν αὐτοῦ λόγον· ἥ τε γὰρ σοφία ἀνθρώπων παρέρχεται ἥ τε συλλογιστικὴ λέξις ἀνθρώπων θάπτεται· «ἐξελεύσεται γὰρ τὸ πνεῦμα αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐπιστρέψει εἰς τὸν χοῦν αὐτοῦ.» τὰ γὰρ συλλογιστικὰ πάντα τῶν ἀνθρώπων παρέρχεται, καὶ οἱ ἄνθρωποι παρελεύσονται μετὰ καὶ τῆς συλλογιστικῆς Ἀετίου καὶ * κατὰ πίστεως τεχνικῆς ἐπιτηδεύσεως. μένει δὲ ἡ ὑπ' αὐτοῦ † συλλογιστικὴ πίστις καὶ ἐλπὶς καὶ ἀγάπη κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον. 39. ˉκˉβ. Εἰ πᾶσα οὐσία ἐστὶν ἀγέννητος οἷα ἡ θεοῦ τοῦ παντοκράτορος, πῶς ἂν τὴν μὲν παθητὴν ἐρεῖ τις, τὴν δὲ ἀπαθῆ; εἰ δὲ φύσεως ἀποκληρώσει ἀγεννήτου ἡ μὲν διαμένει ποσότητος καὶ ποιότητος καὶ ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν πάσης μεταβολῆς ἀμείνων, ἡ δὲ παθῶν ἐστιν ὑπεύθυνος, συγχωρηθεῖσα δὲ τὸ ἀπαράλλακτον εἰς οὐσίαν ἔχειν τῷ αὐτομάτως ἐπιτρέψαι τὸν φιλοῦντα κατὰ τὰ προειρημένα, ἦν τὸ γοῦν ἀκόλουθον τὴν μὲν ποιοῦσαν ἀγέννητον εἰπεῖν, γεννητὴν δὲ τὴν μεταβαλλομένην. Ἀνατροπή. Οὐ πᾶσαν οὐσίαν εἶναι λέγομεν ἀγέννητον οὐδὲ πᾶσαν ἐκ θεοῦ γεννητήν, ὅτι ὁ γεννήσας τὸν ἐξ αὐτοῦ γεγεννημένον καὶ ἀποστείλας ἐξ