If such, then, is the greatness of the Spirit, and whatever is beautiful, whatever is good, coming from God as it does through the Son, is completed by the instrumentality of the Spirit that “worketh all in all,” why do they set themselves against their own life? Why do they alienate themselves from the hope belonging to “such as are to be saved”? Why do they sever themselves from their cleaving unto God? For how can any man cleave unto the Lord unless the Spirit operates within us that union of ourselves with Him? Why do they haggle with us about the amount of service and of worship? Why do they use that word “worship” in an ironical sense, derogatory to a Divine and entirely Independent Being, supposing that they desire their own salvation? We would say to them, “Your supplication is the advantage of you who ask, and not the honouring of Him Who grants it. Why, then, do you approach your Benefactor as if you had something to give? Or rather, why do you refuse to name as a benefactor at all Him Who gives you your blessings, and slight the Life-giver while clinging to Life? Why, seeking for His sanctification, do you misconceive of the Dispenser of the Grace of sanctification; and as to the giving of those blessings, why, not denying that He has the power, do you deem Him not worthy to be asked to give, and fail to take this into consideration, viz. how much greater a thing it is to give some blessing than to be asked to give it? The asking does not unmistakably witness to greatness in him who is asked; for it is possible that one who does not have the thing to give might be asked for it, for the asking depends only on the will of the asker. But one who actually bestows some blessing has thereby given undoubted evidence of a power residing in him. Why then, while testifying to the greater thing in Him,—I mean the power to bestow everything that is morally beautiful52    καλὸν.—do you deprive Him of the asking, as of something of importance; although his asking, as we have said, is often performed in the case of those who have nothing in their power, owing to the delusion of their devotees? For instance, the slaves of superstition ask the idols for the objects of their wishes; but the asking does not, in this instance of the idols, confer any glory; only people pay that attention to them owing to the deluded expectation that they will get some one of the things they ask for, and so they do not cease to ask. But you, persuaded as you are of what and how great things the Holy Spirit is the Giver, do you neglect the asking them from Him, taking refuge in the law which bids you ‘worship God and serve Him only53    Deut. vi. 13; x. 20.?’ Well, how will you worship Him only, tell me, when you have severed Him from His intimate union with His own Only-begotten and His own Spirit? This worship is simply Jewish.

Εἰ οὖν τοσαύτη τοῦ πνεύματος ἡ μεγαλωσύνη καὶ εἴ τι καλὸν καὶ εἴ τι ἀγαθὸν παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ διὰ τοῦ μονογενοῦς ἐν τῷ πάντα ἐν πᾶσιν ἐνεργοῦντι πνεύματι τελειοῦται, τί ἐκπολεμοῦσιν ἑαυτοὺς τῇ ἰδίᾳ ζωῇ; τί ἀπαλλοτριοῦνται τῆς τῶν σῳζομένων ἐλπίδος; τί ἀποκόπτουσιν ἑαυτοὺς ἀπὸ τῆς πρὸς τὸν θεὸν προσκολλήσεως; πῶς γάρ τις προσκολληθήσεται τῷ κυρίῳ μὴ τοῦ πνεύματος τὴν συνάφειαν ἡμῶν πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐνεργοῦντος; τί ζυγομαχοῦσι πρὸς ἡμᾶς περὶ λατρείας καὶ προσκυνήσεως; τί κατειρωνεύονται διὰ τοῦ τῆς λατρείας ὀνόματος κατὰ τῆς θείας τε καὶ ἀπροσδεοῦς φύσεως ὥσπερ οὐχ ἑαυτοὺς εὐεργετοῦντες ἐν τοῖς ὑπὲρ τῆς σωτηρίας αἰτήμασι, ἀλλὰ τιμήν τινα προσάγοντες, ἐὰν σωθῆναι θελήσωσι; σὸν κέρδος ἐστὶ τοῦ αἰτοῦντος ἡ δέησις, οὐχὶ τιμὴ τοῦ παρέχοντος. τί οὖν ὡς χαριζόμενος πρόσει τῷ εὐεργέτῃ, μᾶλλον δὲ οὐδὲ εὐεργέτην τὸν τῶν ἀγαθῶν παρεκτικὸν ἀξιοῖς ὀνομάζειν; ἀλλὰ τοῦ ζῆν ἀντεχόμενος τὸν ζωοποιὸν ἀτιμάζεις καὶ τὸν ἁγιασμὸν ζητῶν παραλογίζῃ τὸν τὴν χάριν τοῦ ἁγιασμοῦ διανέμοντα καὶ τὸ διδόναι τὰ ἀγαθὰ οὐκ ἀρνούμενος αὐτὸν ἔχειν τὴν δύναμιν τοῦ αἰτεῖσθαι κρίνεις ἀνάξιον, οὐδὲ τοῦτο λογιζόμενος, ὅσῳ μεῖζόν ἐστι τὸ δοῦναί τι ἀγαθὸν τοῦ αἰτηθῆναι: τῷ μὲν γὰρ αἰτηθέντι, οὐ πάντως προσμαρτυρεῖ τὸ μεγαλεῖον ἡ αἴτησις: δυνατὸν γάρ ἐστιν αἰτηθῆναί τι καὶ τὸν μὴ ἔχοντα. ἐπὶ γὰρ τῇ προαιρέσει τοῦ αἰτοῦντός ἐστιν: ὁ δὲ παρασχών τι ἀγαθὸν ἀναμφίβολον τῆς προσούσης αὐτῷ δυνάμεως πεποίηται τὴν ἐπίδειξιν. τί οὖν τὸ μεῖζον αὐτῷ προσμαρτυρῶν_λέγω δὲ τὸ δύνασθαι δοῦναι πᾶν ὅ τι καλόν_ὡς μεγάλου τινὸς ἀποστερεῖς τῆς αἰτήσεως, καίτοι τοῦτο πολλάκις, καθὼς εἴρηται, καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν οὐδενὸς κυρίων δι' ἀπάτης τοῦ προσιόντος γίνεται. αἰτοῦσι καὶ παρὰ τῶν εἰδώλων οἱ τῆς ματαιότητος δοῦλοι τὰ κατὰ γνώμην αὐτοῖς, ἀλλ' οὐ παρὰ τοῦτο δόξαν τινὰ προστίθησι τοῖς εἰδώλοις ἡ αἴτησις: κἀκεῖνοι δὲ δι' ἀπάτης αὐτοὺς παρέχοντες προσδοκίᾳ τοῦ μετασχεῖν τινος ὧν ἐλπίζουσιν αἰτοῦντες οὐ διαλείπουσιν. σὺ δὲ πεπεισμένος οἵων καὶ ὅσων παρεκτικόν ἐστι τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον ὑπερορᾷς τῆς αἰτήσεως καὶ καταφεύγεις ἐπὶ τὸν νόμον τὸν κελεύοντα κύριον τὸν θεὸν προσκυνεῖν καὶ αὐτῷ μόνῳ λατρεύειν; πῶς οὖν αὐτῷ μόνῳ λατρεύσεις, εἰπέ μοι, ἀποσχίσας αὐτὸν τῆς πρὸς τὸν μονογενῆ καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα ἑαυτοῦ συναφείας; ἀλλ' αὕτη Ἰουδαϊκὴ ἡ προσκύνησις.