52. For my part, so long as I shall have the power by means of this Spirit Whom Thou hast granted me, Holy Father, Almighty God, I will confess Thee to be not only eternally God, but also eternally Father. Nor will I ever break out into such folly and impiety, as to make myself the judge of Thy omnipotence and Thy mysteries, nor shall this weak understanding arrogantly seek for more than that devout belief in Thy infinitude and faith in Thy eternity, which have been taught me. I will not assert that Thou wast ever without Thy Wisdom, and Thy Power, and Thy Word, without God Only-begotten, my Lord Jesus Christ. The weak and imperfect language, to which our nature is limited, does not dominate my thoughts concerning Thee, so that my poverty of utterance should choke faith into silence. For although we have a word and wisdom and power of our own, the product of our free inward activity, yet Thine is the absolute generation of perfect God, Who is Thy Word and Wisdom and Power; so that He can never be separated from Thee, Who in these names of Thy eternal properties is shewn to be born of Thee. Yet His birth is only so far shewn as to make manifest the fact that Thou art the Source of His being; yet sufficiently to confirm our belief in His infinity, inasmuch as it is related that He was born before times eternal.

52. Huic se adhaerere profitetur Hilarius quam nec sensu suo praefinit.--- Ego quidem, in quantum concesso mihi hoc a te spiritu vigebo, sancte Pater omnipotens Deus, ut aeternum te Deum, ita aeternum et patrem confitebor. Neque in id umquam stultitiae atque impietatis erumpam, ut omnipotentiae tuae sacramentorumque 0467A arbiter, hunc infirmitatis meae sensum ultra infinitatis tuae religiosam opinionem, et significatam mihi aeternitatis fidem erigam: ut te aliquando sine Sapientia et Virtute et Verbo tuo, unigenito Deo Domino meo Jesu Christo fuisse praefiniam. Non enim praejudicat de te sensui meo naturae 440 nostrae infirmus imperfectusque sermo; ut fidem intra silentium strangulet inopia eloquendi. Namque cum verbum et sapientia et virtus in nobis interioris motus nostri opus nostrum sit, tecum tamen perfecti Dei, qui et Verbum tuum et Sapientia et Virtus est, absoluta generatio est; ut inseparabilis semper a te sit, qui in his aeternarum proprietatum tuarum nominibus ex te natus ostenditur: natus autem ita, ut nihil aliud quam te sibi significet auctorem; 0467B non etiam fidem infinitatis amittat per id, quod ante tempora aeterna natus esse memoratur.