21. But if, in regard to order and nature, the Spirit bears the same relation to the Son as the Son to the Father, will not he who calls the Spirit a creature necessarily hold the same to be true also of the Son? For if the Spirit is a creature of the Son, it will be consistent for them to say that the Word is a creature of the Father. By holding such opinions the Arians have fallen into the Judaism of Caiaphas. But if those who say such things about the Spirit claim that they do not hold the opinions of Arius, let them avoid his words and keep from impiety toward the Spirit. For as the Son, who is in the Father and the Father in him, is not a creature but pertains to the essence of the Father (for this you also profess to say); so also it is not lawful to rank with the creatures the Spirit who is in the Son, and the Son in him, nor to divide him from the Word and reduce the Triad to imperfection.

As regards the sayings both of the Prophet and the Apostle, by perverting whose meaning these men have deceived themselves, these considerations are sufficient to refute the evil speech to which the ignorance of the Tropici gives rise. But finally let us look, one by one, at the references to the Holy Spirit in the divine Scriptures, and, like good bankers, let us judge whether he has anything in common with the creatures, or whether he pertains to God; that we may call him either a creature or else other than the creatures, pertaining to and one with the divinity of the Triad. Perhaps they may be put to shame when they realize how far the blasphemous words they have devised are out of harmony with the divine oracles.

Τοιαύτην δὲ τάξιν καὶ φύσιν ἔχοντος τοῦ Πνεύματος πρὸς τὸν Υἱὸν, οἵαν ὁ Υἱὸς ἔχει πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα, πῶς ὁ τοῦτο κτίσμα λέγων οὐ τὸ αὐτὸ καὶ περὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ ἐξ ἀνάγκης φρονήσει; Εἰ γάρ ἐστι τὸ Πνεῦμα τοῦ Υἱοῦ κτίσμα, ἀκόλουθον ἂν εἴη λέ γειν αὐτοὺς καὶ τὸν Λόγον τοῦ Πατρὸς εἶναι κτίσμα. Τοιαῦτα γὰρ οἱ Ἀρειανοὶ φαντασθέντες, εἰς τὸν κατὰ Καϊάφαν Ἰουδαϊσμὸν πεπτώκασιν. Εἰ δὲ τὰ Ἀρείουμὴ προσποιοῦνται φρονεῖν οἱ περὶ τοῦ Πνεύματος τοιαῦτα λέγοντες, φευγέτωσαν καὶ τὰ ἐκείνου ῥή ματα, καὶ μὴ ἀσεβείτωσαν εἰς τὸ Πνεῦμα. Ὥσπερ γὰρ ὁ Υἱὸς, ὁ ἐν τῷ Πατρὶ ὢν, ἐν ᾧ καὶ ὁ Πα τήρ ἐστιν, οὐκ ἔστι κτίσμα, ἀλλ' ἴδιος τῆς τοῦ Πατρὸς οὐσίας (τοῦτο γὰρ καὶ ὑμεῖς προσποιεῖσθε λέγειν)· οὕτως καὶ τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἐν τῷ Υἱῷ, ἐν ᾧ καὶ ὁ Υἱός ἐστιν, οὐ θέμις τοῖς κτίσμασι συντάσσειν, οὐδὲ διαιρεῖν αὐτὸ ἀπὸ τοῦ Λόγου, καὶ ἀτελῆ τὴν Τριάδα κατασκευάζειν. Τῶν μὲν οὖν ῥητῶν τοῦ τε προφητι κοῦ καὶ τοῦ ἀποστολικοῦ χάριν, ὧν τὴν διάνοιαν παραποιοῦντες, ἠπάτησαν ἑαυτοὺς, ἀρκεῖ διὰ τούτων διελέγξαι τὴν ἐκ τῆς ἀμαθίας τῶν τροπικῶν δυσφη μίαν. Ἴδωμεν δὲ λοιπὸν καὶ αὐτὰ καθ' αὑτὰ τὰ ἐν ταῖς θείαις Γραφαῖς περὶ τοῦ Πνεύματος τοῦ ἁγίου λεγόμενα, καὶ ὡς δόκιμοι τραπεζῖται διακρίνωμεν, εἰ ἴδιόν τι πρὸς τὰ κτίσματα ἔχει τὸ Πνεῦμα, ἢ ἴδιον τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐστιν, ἵνα ἢ κτίσμα αὐτὸ εἴπωμεν, ἢ ἄλλο μὲν τῶν κτισμάτων, ἴδιον δὲ καὶ ἓν τῆς ἐν Τριάδι θεότητος. Τάχα κἂν οὕτως ἐντραπῶσι, μαθόντες, ὅσον ἀπᾴδει τῶν θείων λογίων τὰ ἐφευρεθέντα παρ' αὐτῶν τῆς βλασφημίας ῥήματα.