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wishing to be called by the name Christian, or that he has the Son as God, but not a true one, and he will have one true God and one not true. And finding one under another by subordination, still also placing the Holy Spirit in a lesser and inferior rank, or that he will have a lesser God again, or not counting this with the Trinity, the miserable little man will be entirely foreign to Christians, and for the rest may he be proclaimed a most perfect Hellene and a Sadducee in number, foreign to the Holy Spirit, as he is, and compared in lot with the Hellenes, asserting one great God and one small, one true and one not true, as the Hellenes confess, naming one great god, and the others small, while the divine scripture clearly refutes him, and concerning the Father says that he is “the true God” and concerning the Son likewise “God”, and concerning the Father “God is light”, and concerning the Son “He was the true light”, and concerning the Holy Spirit that He is “the Spirit of truth”. Truly, therefore, the Trinity is proclaimed to us in “the depth of the riches and wisdom”. Then again he consistently says also “by Jesus Christ who was sent”, and he was not ashamed to deem the only-begotten unworthy of the name of God, but used only a bare word, as he confessed in the preceding chapters, bestowing on the Son the privilege of the name only as a bare designation. and he says “truly subsisting before the ages and truly being of a begotten substance”; and he says, “he will preserve from impiety”. But it is the custom of every wicked woman to anticipate and ascribe her own ways to others. For not seeing in how many things he has been impious, he considers himself pious, just as those who are possessed of madness think that they are of sound mind, but that others are frenzied. And here, having put “in Christ Jesus”, he did not even dare to render “our Lord”, but said ironically “our Savior”. And he says, “through whom be all glory to God and the Father, both now and forever and unto the ages of ages. Amen”. And the very act of saying “all glory” is in order to remove the Son from honor and glory; which none of the pious and of those who have received from the Holy Spirit the gift of the true faith would ever endure. Having discussed all these things said by this Aetius in a certain dialectical art and syllogistic insinuation of human trickery3.411 in 37 chapters, † which we urge you to read with understanding. And immediately you will know, O children of Christians and servants of Christ and sons of the truth, all his earthly empty talk and teaching foreign to the Holy Spirit; who did not dare even in a single word to make mention of the divine word or of any saying of the old or new testament, not from the law, not from the prophets, not from the gospels, not from the apostles, nor to adduce the testimony of any of the patriarchs, nor of the Savior Himself, nor ever of the Father, nor a word of the Holy Spirit spoken through the apostles or through the prophets, so that it may be completely self-evident to the friends of the truth that he is entirely foreign to God and to His faith. And I think that we have sufficiently, as far as possible in simple language, but with the confirmation from the divine scriptures and of pious reasoning itself, responded to him against his propositions. And since we have discoursed clearly and sufficiently concerning faith in the refutations against him, we think it is enough, so that by adding more we do not create some greater difficulty for the reading. But a few things again of which he, being lifted up in his mind after his strange faith and hatred toward Christ and His Holy Spirit *, how much his mouth dared, and that of those discipled by him *, and in audacity to raise his mind on high and to blaspheme arrogant things, I will again take up and briefly speak. For this man fancied, and those from him, beyond every man, not to know God according to faith, but by nature according to

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Χριστιανὸς τὸ ὄνομα καλεῖσθαι βουλόμενος, ἢ ὅτι θεὸν μὲν ἔχει τὸν υἱόν, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἀληθινόν, καὶ ἔσται αὐτῷ εἷς θεὸς ἀληθινὸς καὶ εἷς οὐκ ἀληθινός. κατὰ δὲ ὑπόβασιν ἕνα ὑφ' ἑνὸς εὑρίσκων, ἔτι καὶ τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα ἐν μικροτέρᾳ καὶ ἀποδεούσῃ τάξει τάττων, ἢ ὅτι μικρότερον πάλιν θεὸν ἕξει ἢ τῇ τριάδι μὴ συναριθμῶν τοῦτο, ἔσται παντάπασιν ἀλλότριον Χριστιανῶν τὸ ἐλεεινὸν ἀνθρωπάριον καὶ λοιπὸν Ἕλλην ἀποκηρυχθείη τελειότατος καὶ Σαδδουκαῖος τῷ ἀριθμῷ, ἀλλότριος μὲν τοῦ πνεύματος τοῦ ἁγίου, ὡς καὶ ἔστιν, Ἕλλησι δὲ συγκρινόμενος τῇ μερίδι, ἕνα μὲν θεὸν φάσκων μέγαν καὶ ἕνα μικρόν, ἕνα ἀληθινὸν καὶ ἕνα οὐκ ἀληθινόν, ὡς Ἕλληνες ὁμολογοῦσιν, ἕνα μέγαν θεόν, τοὺς δὲ ἄλλους μικροὺς ὀνομάζοντες, τῆς θείας γραφῆς αὐτὸν σαφῶς ἐλεγχούσης, καὶ περὶ πατρὸς μὲν λεγούσης ὡς «ὁ θεὸς ἀληθινὸς» καὶ περὶ υἱοῦ τὸ «θεὸς» ὡσαύτως, καὶ περὶ πατρὸς τὸ «φῶς ὁ θεός», περὶ δὲ υἱοῦ «ἦν τὸ φῶς τὸ ἀληθινόν», καὶ περὶ ἁγίου πνεύματος ὅτι «τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας». ἀληθινῶς τοίνυν ἡμῖν ἡ τριὰς καταγγέλλεται ἐν «σοφίᾳ καὶ βάθει πλούτου». Εἶτα πάλιν ἀκολούθως φησὶ καὶ «ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀποσταλέντος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ», καὶ οὐκ ᾐδέσθη ἀπαξιώσας τὸν μονογενῆ θεοῦ ὀνόματος, ἀλλὰ μόνον ψιλῇ τῇ λέξει κέχρηται, ὡς ἐν τοῖς ἀνωτάτω ὡμολόγησε κεφαλαίοις, ἕως ψιλῆς ὀνομασίας νέμων τῷ υἱῷ τὸ γέρας τοῦ ὀνόματος. λέγει δὲ «πρὸ αἰώνων ὑποστάντα ἀληθῶς καὶ ὄντα ἀληθῶς γεννητῆς ὑποστάσεως»· «διατηρήσει» δέ φησιν «ἀπὸ τῆς ἀσεβείας». εἴωθε δὲ πᾶσα φαύλη γυνὴ τοὺς αὐτῆς τρόπους ἄλλοις προλαμβάνειν τε καὶ ἐπιφημίζειν. οὐχ ὁρῶν γὰρ εἰς ὅσα ἠσέβησεν ἑαυτὸν εὐσεβῆ νομίζει, ὡς οἱ τὴν παραπληξίαν κεκτημένοι νομίζουσι μὲν ἑαυτοὺς ἐν φρονήσει εἶναι, τοὺς δὲ ἄλλους φρενιτιῶντας. ἐνταῦθα δὲ «ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ» θέμενος οὐδὲ «τῷ κυρίῳ ἡμῶν» ἐτόλμησεν ἀποδοῦναι, ἀλλ' εἰρωνικῶς «τῷ σωτῆρι ἡμῶν» ἔφησεν. καὶ φησὶ «δι' οὗ πᾶσα δόξα τῷ θεῷ καὶ πατρί, καὶ νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. ἀμήν». καὶ αὐτὸ δὲ τὸ εἰπεῖν «πᾶσα δόξα» ὅπως περιάροι τὸν υἱὸν ἀπὸ τῆς τιμῆς τε καὶ δόξης· οὗ οὐδεὶς ἀνέξοιτό ποτε τῶν εὐσεβῶν καὶ ἐκ πνεύματος ἁγίου τὴν δωρεὰν τῆς ἀληθινῆς πίστεως εἰληφότων. Ταῦτα δὲ πάντα διαλαβόντες τὰ ὑπὸ τούτου τοῦ Ἀετίου εἰρημένα ἐν διαλεκτικῇ τινι τέχνῃ καὶ συλλογιστικῇ ὑπονοίᾳ ἀνθρωπίνης μαγγα3.411 νείας ἐν κεφαλαίοις ˉλˉζ, † οἷς νουνεχῶς ὑμᾶς ἐντυχεῖν παρακαλοῦμεν. καὶ εὐθὺς μὲν εἴσεσθε, ὦ Χριστιανῶν παῖδες καὶ δοῦλοι Χριστοῦ καὶ υἱοὶ τῆς ἀληθείας, τὴν πᾶσαν αὐτοῦ γηΐνην κενοφωνίαν καὶ ἀλλοτρίαν πνεύματος ἁγίου διδασκαλίαν· ὃς οὐκ ἐτόλμησε κἂν ἐν μιᾷ λέξει μνησθῆναι θείου λόγου ἢ ῥητοῦ τινος παλαιᾶς ἢ καινῆς διαθήκης, οὐκ ἀπὸ νόμου, οὐκ ἀπὸ προφητῶν, οὐκ ἀπὸ εὐαγγελίων, οὐκ ἀπὸ ἀποστόλων, οὐ τινὸς τῶν πατριαρχῶν μαρτυρίαν παρενέγκαι, οὔτ' αὐτοῦ τοῦ σωτῆρος, οὐ πατρὸς πώποτε, οὐχ ἁγίου πνεύματος ῥῆμα δι' ἀποστόλων εἰρημένον ἢ διὰ προφητῶν, ἵνα παντελῶς αὐτοφώρατος γένηται τοῖς φίλοις τῆς ἀληθείας ὅτι παντάπασιν ἀλλότριος τυγχάνει θεοῦ καὶ τῆς αὐτοῦ πίστεως. νομίζω δὲ καὶ ἱκανῶς ἡμᾶς πρὸς τὰς αὐτοῦ προτάσεις κατὰ τὸ δυνατὸν ἰδιωτικῷ λόγῳ, συστάσει δὲ τῇ ἀπὸ τῶν θείων γραφῶν καὶ αὐτοῦ τοῦ εὐσεβοῦς λογισμοῦ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀπηντηκέναι. καὶ ἐπειδὴ ἱκανῶς ἐν ταῖς πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀνατροπαῖς περὶ πίστεως σαφῶς διελέχθημεν, ἀρκετῶς ἡγούμεθα, ἵνα μὴ προσθέντες δυσχέρειάν τινα περὶ τὴν ἀνάγνωσιν περισσοτέραν ἐργασώμεθα. Ὀλίγα δὲ πάλιν ἐξ ὧν αὐτὸς ἀρθεὶς τὴν διάνοιαν μετὰ τὴν ἀλλόκοτον αὐτοῦ πίστιν καὶ εἰς Χριστὸν καὶ εἰς τὸ ἅγιον αὐτοῦ πνεῦμα ἀπέχθειαν *, ὅσα ἐτόλμησε τὸ αὐτοῦ στόμα καὶ τῶν ὑπ' αὐτοῦ μεμαθητευμένων * καὶ ἐν θράσει εἰς ὕψος ἆραι τὴν διάνοιαν καὶ ὑπέρογκα βλασφημῆσαι, αὖθις ἐπιλαβόμενος συντόμως λέξω. Οὗτος γὰρ ἐφαντάσθη καὶ οἱ ἀπ' αὐτοῦ ὑπὲρ πάντα ἄνθρωπον οὐκ ἐπὶ τῷ εἰδέναι τὸν θεὸν κατὰ πίστιν, ἀλλὰ φύσει κατὰ