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has been said; but it is clear that it is in the form of a question. Therefore, let him ask this of the children of the Greeks, and let them agree with him that the question holds this from syllogisms, alleging some matter co-eternal with God. And let him be convicted along with them, if he should agree, since the truth holds that there is one creator, there being in one essence a perfect Trinity, not numbered by way of fusion. But all other things are generated and created and not ungenerated. But since the Godhead is uncreated, the Father begetting, the Son begotten, the Holy Spirit sent forth from the Father himself and receiving of the Son’s, and all things being created, while that which is unchangeable in power remains fittingly in the Trinity, with all Godhead being referred to the Father on account of the reasonableness and unassailability of the monad and its abolition of polytheism, the unchangeable remains in power, while the reasonable is fittingly analogized for the Son in relation to the Father and the Holy Spirit. Therefore, since these things are so, the intention of the question's plot will fall from the beginning. For the unchangeable things are not many, but the one Trinity in a monad and one Godhead in a Trinity. But all other things are removed, having the power to suffer or to act neither by spontaneity, nor is the Holy Trinity able to suffer in 3.407 doing something, the whole being impassible and worthy of worship; I mean, of course, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. For God made all things through the Son, but not the Son, for he is not with all things; for he serves with the Father and is worshipped together with him. Nor the Holy Spirit, for it is not numbered among all things, but it strengthens the power of all things and is worshipped together. But with all things being subjected under the providence of the One, each thing is borne and acts, and suffers and whatever other things *. Therefore the one Trinity is unchangeable with respect to itself, but the other things from it are changed. For they are neither co-temporal nor co-eternal. But it alone is eternal and uncreated and ungenerated, with the Son having been begotten timelessly and without beginning, always existing and never ceasing to be. Whence the divine word has taught with certainty that the Father is the head and not the beginning of the Son, on account of the consubstantiality and the eternal being of the Holy Spirit sent forth from the Father, always existing with the Father and not having begun from a time. 53. 30. If "ungenerated" and "God" denote the same thing in parallel, the ungenerated has generated an ungenerated. But if "ungenerated" denotes one thing, and "God" another, it is not absurd for a God to have generated a God, each having received existence from an ungenerated essence. But if there were nothing before God, as there is not, "God" and "ungenerated" denote the same thing, with the offspring not admitting the ungenerated. Therefore it does not endure to be pronounced together with its God and Father. Refutation. From where does Aetius wish us to furnish for ourselves the sense of the questions proposed by him from his reasonings? And if he says from reasonings and syllogisms, our provision of the suspicion will fall along with him. For no one would ever deduce God by syllogism, nor "will the thing formed say to him who formed it, why have you made me thus?" according to what is written. But from pious reasoning and just certainty one must return to the teaching of the Holy Spirit through the holy scriptures. But with an unalterable word teaching us about those who served the creation, how they were made foolish, how would it not be found foolish to take a God over a creature and to worship and honor this, 3.408 since faith by nature casts out the object of worship from the created and the created from the object of worship? For if this in general will make no difference to those who assign reverence to creation, there will be nothing preferential in Christianity; and such a faith will be idolatry rather than piety. For they too worship the sun and moon and powers, and heaven and earth and the other created things. And the difference of created things does not make the wonder, nor will the excellent distinguish itself from what has equal honor because of

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εἴρηται· δῆλον δὲ ὅτι ἐρωτητικῶς. Ἑλλήνων τοίνυν παῖδας τοῦτο ἐρωτάτω, κἀκεῖνοι δὲ αὐτῷ συντιθέσθωσαν τοῦτο ἔχειν ἐκ συλλογισμῶν τὸ ἐρώτημα, ὕλην τινὰ σύγχρονον τῷ θεῷ ἐπιφημίζοντες. ἁλισκέσθω δὲ ἅμα ἐκείνοις, εἰ συντιθοῖτο, ἐχούσης τῆς ἀληθείας ἓν εἶναι τὸ ποιοῦν, ἐν μιᾷ οὐσίᾳ οὔσης τριάδος τελείας καὶ οὐ κατὰ συναλοιφὴν ἀριθμουμένης. τὰ δ' ἄλλα πάντα γενητὰ καὶ κτιστὰ καὶ οὐκ ἀγέννητα. τῆς δὲ θεότητος ἀκτίστου οὔσης, πατρὸς μὲν γεννῶντος, υἱοῦ δὲ γεννητοῦ, πνεύματος δὲ ἁγίου ἐξ αὐτοῦ ἀπεσταλμένου τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ τῶν τοῦ υἱοῦ λαμβάνοντος, πάντων δὲ ὄντων κεκτισμένων, τοῦ δὲ ἀπαραλλάκτου τῇ δυνάμει μένοντος συμπρεπόντως ἐν τῇ τριάδι, πάσης θεότητος ἐπὶ τὸν πατέρα ἀναφερομένης διὰ τὸ εὔλογον καὶ ἄπτωτον τῆς μονάδος καὶ τὸ ἀναιρετικὸν τῆς πολυθεΐας, τὸ μὲν ἀπαράλλακτον μένει τῇ δυνάμει, τὸ δὲ εὔλογον συμπρεπόντως ἀναλογεῖται υἱοῦ πρὸς πατέρα καὶ ἁγίου πνεύματος. τοίνυν τούτων οὕτως ἐχόντων, ἐξ ὑπαρχῆς πεσεῖται τῆς ἐπιβουλῆς τοῦ ἐρωτήματος ἡ ἐπίνοια. οὐ γὰρ πολλὰ τὰ ἀπαράλλακτα, ἀλλὰ ἡ μία τριὰς ἐν μονάδι καὶ μία θεότης ἐν τριάδι. τὰ δ' ἄλλα πάντα ἀφέστηκεν, οὔτε αὐτοματισμῷ ἔχοντα τὸ πάσχειν ἢ ποιεῖν, οὔτε τῆς ἁγίας τριάδος ἐν 3.407 τῷ τὶ ποιεῖν δυναμένης πάσχειν, τῆς ὅλης ἀπαθοῦς οὔσης καὶ προσκυνητῆς· φημὶ δὴ πατρὸς καὶ υἱοῦ καὶ ἁγίου πνεύματος. ἐποίησε γὰρ πάντα ὁ θεὸς δι' υἱοῦ, ἀλλ' οὐχὶ τὸν υἱόν οὐ γάρ ἐστι σὺν πᾶσι· συνυπουργεῖ γὰρ τῷ πατρὶ καὶ συμπροσκυνεῖται οὔτε τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα οὐ γὰρ ἀριθμεῖται ἀπὸ πάντων, στερεοῖ δὲ τὴν δύναμιν τῶν ἁπάντων καὶ συμπροσκυνεῖται. τῶν δὲ πάντων ὑπὸ τὴν τοῦ ἑνὸς προνοησίαν ὑποτεταγμένων ἕκαστα φέρεταί τε καὶ πράττει, πάσχει δὲ καὶ ὅσα ἕτερα *. διὸ ἡ μία τριὰς πρὸς ἑαυτὴν ἀπαράλλακτος, τὰ δὲ ἄλλα τὰ ἐξ αὐτῆς παρηλλαγμένα. οὔτε γάρ ἐστι σύγχρονα οὔτε συναΐδια. μόνη δὲ ἀΐδιος καὶ ἄκτιστος καὶ ἀγέννητος, υἱοῦ μὲν γεγεννημένου ἀχρόνως καὶ ἀνάρχως, ἀεὶ δὲ ὄντος καὶ μηδέποτε διαλείποντος τοῦ εἶναι. ὅθεν ἠσφαλισμένως κεφαλὴν καὶ οὐκ ἀρχὴν τὸν πατέρα τοῦ υἱοῦ ἐδίδαξεν ὁ θεῖος λόγος διὰ τὸ ὁμοούσιον καὶ ἀϊδίως ὄντος τοῦ πνεύματος τοῦ ἁγίου καὶ ἐκ πατρὸς ἀπεσταλμένου, ἀεὶ δὲ σὺν πατρὶ ὑπάρχοντος καὶ μὴ ἀπὸ χρόνου ἀρξαμένου. 53. ˉλˉ. Εἰ τὸ ἀγέννητος καὶ τὸ θεὸς ἐκ παραλλήλου τὸ αὐτὸ δηλοῖ, ὁ ἀγέννητος ἀγέννητον ἐγέννησεν. εἰ δὲ ἕτερόν τι δηλοῖ τὸ ἀγέννητος, ἕτερον δὲ τὸ θεός, οὐκ ἄτοπον τὸ θεὸν γεγεννηκέναι θεόν, ἑκατέρου τὴν ὕπαρξιν λαβόντος ἐξ ἀγεννήτου οὐσίας. εἰ δὲ τὸ πρὸ τοῦ θεοῦ μηδὲν εἴη, ὥσπερ οὐκ ἔστιν, τὸ θεὸς καὶ τὸ ἀγέννητος ταυτὸν δηλοῖ, οὐ προσιεμένου τοῦ γεννήματος τὸ ἀγέννητον. διὸ οὐδὲ συνεκφωνεῖσθαι τῷ θεῷ καὶ πατρὶ αὐτοῦ ἀνέχεται. Ἀνατροπή. Πόθεν βούλεται ἡμᾶς Ἀέτιος προσπορίσασθαι ἐν ἑαυτοῖς τὸν νοῦν τῶν ὑπ' αὐτοῦ προτεινομένων πεύσεων τῶν αὐτοῦ λογισμῶν; καὶ εἰ μὲν φάσκει ἐκ λογισμῶν καὶ συλλογισμῶν, πεσεῖται καὶ ἡμῶν ὁ πορισμὸς τῆς ὑπονοίας ἅμα αὐτῷ. θεὸν γὰρ οὐδεὶς συλλογίσοιτο πώποτε, οὔτε «ἐρεῖ τὸ πλάσμα τῷ πλάσαντι, τί με οὕτως ἐποίησας;» κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον. ἐξ εὐσεβοῦς δὲ λογισμοῦ καὶ δικαίας ἀσφαλείας ἐπὶ τὴν τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος διὰ τῶν ἁγίων γραφῶν διδασκαλίαν ἀνακαμπτέον. λέξεως δὲ ἀπαραβάτου διδασκούσης ἡμᾶς περὶ τῶν τῇ κτίσει λατρευσάντων, ὡς ἐμωράνθησαν, πῶς οὐκ ἂν μωρὸν εὑρεθείη ἐπὶ κτίσματι θεὸν λαμβάνειν καὶ τοῦτο προσκυνεῖν τε καὶ γεραίρειν, 3.408 τῆς πίστεως φύσει παρεκβαλλούσης τὸ προσκυνητὸν ἀπὸ τοῦ κτιστοῦ καὶ τὸ κτιστὸν ἀπὸ τοῦ προσκυνητοῦ; καὶ γὰρ εἰ ὅλως τοῦτο οὐδὲν διοίσει πρὸς τοὺς τῇ κτίσει τὸ σέβας νέμοντας, οὐδὲν πρόκριτον ἔσται ἐν Χριστιανισμῷ· ἔσται δὲ ἡ τοιαύτη πίστις εἰδωλολατρεία μᾶλλον ἢ θεοσέβεια. προσκυνοῦσι γὰρ κἀκεῖνοι ἥλιον καὶ σελήνην καὶ δυνάμεις, οὐρανόν τε καὶ γῆν καὶ τὰ ἄλλα κτίσματα. καὶ οὐ τὸ διάφορον τῶν κτισμάτων ποιεῖται τὸ θαῦμα, οὐδὲ διοίσει τὸ ἐξαίρετον ἑαυτὸ τῆς ὁμοτιμίας διὰ τὸ