Chapter 8.—Whatever is Spoken of God According to Substance, is Spoken of Each Person Severally, and Together of the Trinity Itself. One Essence in God, and Three, in Greek, Hypostases, in Latin, Persons.

9. Wherefore let us hold this above all, that whatsoever is said of that most eminent and divine loftiness in respect to itself, is said in respect to substance, but that which is said in relation to anything, is not said in respect to substance, but relatively; and that the effect of the same substance in Father and Son and Holy Spirit is, that whatsoever is said of each in respect to themselves, is to be taken of them, not in the plural in sum, but in the singular. For as the Father is God, and the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, which no one doubts to be said in respect to substance, yet we do not say that the very Supreme Trinity itself is three Gods, but one God. So the Father is great, the Son great, and the Holy Spirit great; yet not three greats, but one great. For it is not written of the Father alone, as they perversely suppose, but of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, “Thou art great: Thou art God alone.”566    Ps. lxxxvi. 10 And the Father is good, the Son good, and the Holy Spirit good; yet not three goods, but one good, of whom it is said, “None is good, save one, that is, God.” For the Lord Jesus, lest He should be understood as man only by him who said, “Good Master,” as addressing a man, does not therefore say, There is none good, save the Father alone; but, “None is good, save one, that is, God.”567    Luke xviii. 18, 19 For the Father by Himself is declared by the name of Father; but by the name of God, both Himself and the Son and the Holy Spirit, because the Trinity is one God. But position, and condition, and places, and times, are not said to be in God properly, but metaphorically and through similitudes. For He is both said to dwell between the cherubims,568    Ps. lxxx. 1 which is spoken in respect to position; and to be covered with the deep as with a garment,569    Ps. civ. 6 which is said in respect to condition; and “Thy years shall have no end,”570    Ps. cii. 27 which is said in respect of time; and, “If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there,”571    Ps. cxxxix. 8 which is said in respect to place. And as respects action (or making), perhaps it may be said most truly of God alone, for God alone makes and Himself is not made. Nor is He liable to passions as far as belongs to that substance whereby He is God. So the Father is omnipotent, the Son omnipotent, and the Holy Spirit is omnipotent; yet not three omnipotents, but one omnipotent:572    [This phraseology appears in the analytical statements of the so-called Athanasian creed (cap. 11–16), and affords ground for the opinion that this symbol is a Western one, originating in the school of Augustin.—W.G.T.S.] “For of Him are all things, and through Him are all things, and in Him are all things; to whom be glory.”573    Rom. xi. 36 Whatever, therefore, is spoken of God in respect to Himself, is both spoken singly of each person, that is, of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit; and together of the Trinity itself, not plurally but in the singular. For inasmuch as to God it is not one thing to be, and another thing to be great, but to Him it is the same thing to be, as it is to be great; therefore, as we do not say three essences, so we do not say three greatnesses, but one essence and one greatness. I say essence, which in Greek is called οὐσία, and which we call more usually substance.

10. They indeed use also the word hypostasis; but they intend to put a difference, I know not what, between οὐσία and hypostasis: so that most of ourselves who treat these things in the Greek language, are accustomed to say, μίαν οὐσίαν, τρεῖς ὑποστάσεις or in Latin, one essence, three substances.574    [It is remarkable that Augustin, understanding thoroughly the distinction between essence and person, should not have known the difference between οὐσία and ὑπόστασις. It would seem as if his only moderate acquaintance with the Greek language would have been more than compensated by his profound trinitarian knowledge.   In respect to the term “substantia”—when it was discriminated from “essentia,” as it is here by Augustin—it corresponds to ὑπόστασις, of which it is the translation. In this case, God is one essence in three substances. But when “substantia” was identified with “essentia,” then to say that God is one essence in three substances would be a self-contradiction. The identification of the two terms led subsequently to the coinage, in the mediæval Latin, of the term “subsistantia,” to denote ὑπόστασις.—W.G.T.S.]

CAPUT VIII.

9. Quidquid substantialiter de Deo dicitur, de singulis personis singulariter et simul de ipsa Trinitate dicitur. In Deo una essentia, tres Graecis hypostases, Latinis tres personae. Quapropter illud praecipue teneamus, quidquid ad se dicitur praestantissima 0917 illa et divina sublimitas, substantialiter dici; quod autem ad aliquid, non substantialiter, sed relative: tantamque vim esse ejusdem substantiae in Patre et Filio et Spiritu sancto, ut quidquid de singulis ad se ipsos dicitur, non pluraliter in summa, sed singulariter accipiatur. Quemadmodum enim Pater Deus est, et Filius Deus est, et Spiritus sanctus Deus est, quod secundum substantiam dici nemo dubitat: non tamen tres deos, sed unum Deum dicimus eam ipsam praestantissimam Trinitatem. Ita magnus Pater, magnus Filius, magnus Spiritus sanctus: non tamen tres magni, sed unus magnus. Non enim de Patre solo, sicut illi perverse sentiunt; sed de Patre et Filio et Spiritu sancto scriptum est, Tu es Deus solus magnus (Psal. LXXXV, 10). Et bonus Pater, bonus Filius, bonus Spiritus sanctus: nec tres boni, sed unus est bonus, de quo dictum est, Nemo bonus, nisi unus Deus. Etenim Dominus Jesus, ne ab illo qui dixerat, Magister bone (Luc. XVIII, 19, 18), tanquam hominem compellans, secundum hominem tantummodo intelligeretur, ideo non ait, Nemo bonus, nisi solus Pater; sed, Nemo bonus, nisi unus Deus. In Patris enim nomine, ipse per se Pater pronuntiatur: in Dei vero, et ipse et Filius et Spiritus sanctus, quia Trinitas unus Deus. Situs vero, et habitus, et loca, et tempora, non proprie, sed translate ac per similitudines dicuntur in Deo. Nam et sedere super Cherubim dicitur (Psal. LXXIX, 2); quod ad situm dicitur: et abyssum tanquam vestimentum amictus (Psal. CIII, 6); quod ad habitum: et, Anni tui non deficient (Psal. CI, 28); quod ad tempus: et, Si ascendero in coelum, tu ibi es (Psal. CXXXVIII, 8); quod ad locum. Quod autem ad faciendum attinet, fortassis de solo Deo verissime dicatur: solus enim Deus facit et ipse non fit, neque patitur quantum ad ejus substantiam pertinet qua Deus est. Itaque omnipotens Pater, omnipotens Filius, omnipotens Spiritus sanctus: nec tamen tres omnipotentes, sed unus Omnipotens, ex quo omnia, per quem omnia, in quo omnia; ipsi gloria (Rom. XI, 36). Quidquid ergo ad se ipsum dicitur Deus, et de singulis personis singulariter dicitur , id est, de Patre, et Filio, et Spiritu sancto, et simul de ipsa Trinitate, non pluraliter, sed singulariter dicitur. Quoniam quippe non aliud est Deo esse, et aliud magnum esse, sed hoc idem illi est esse quod magnum esse: propterea sicut non dicimus tres essentias, sic non dicimus tres magnitudines, sed unam essentiam et unam magnitudinem. Essentiam dico, quae οὐσία graece dicitur, quam usitatius substantiam vocamus.

10. Dicunt quidem et illi hypostasim; sed nescio quid volunt interesse inter usiam et hypostasim: ita ut plerique nostri qui haec graeco tractant eloquio, dicere consueverint, μίαν οὐσίαν, τρεῖς ὑποστάσεις, quod est latine, unam essentiam, tres substantias.