Orations against the arians

 Of teachers, in order that they too may seem to be called christians in this way and not being ashamed of their own disgraceful name, let them play g

 Wishing to dance against the savior, to express his own miserable little sayings of impiety in dissolute and loose melodies? so that, just as wisdom s

 Is proper to created things and is one of them. and with these things, having become as it were a successor of the devil’s rashness, he has put in his

 Saying certain parts of the gospels, they will deny along with them the law and the prophets. but if in their ignorance they are so tossed by the stor

 The word the father he is not the true and only word of the father himself, but is called word and wisdom by name only, and by grace is called son an

 Seeing him who sowed the heresy among them at a loss, and that they may learn, even though late, that being arians, they are not christians. you have

 A few things 26.37 for i have hoped in the eternal one for your salvation, and joy came to me from the holy one. and since the apostle, writing to th

 You do not hide yourselves at all, nor even when hiding can you escape notice for again you signify times, saying, «there was a time when he was not,

 A partaker? of the spirit? and yet the spirit itself rather receives from the son, as he himself has said, and it is unreasonable to say that this one

 Being, in whom he creates. then let them tell us, or rather, even from this let them see their own impiety in saying, there was a time when he was no

 To be at some time, but to be always. and these things are the son who says, i am the life, and, i wisdom dwelt in counsel. how then is he not imp

 In which seeing himself, he rejoices, as the son himself says: i was she in whom he rejoiced. when, then, did the father not see himself in his own im

 Wishing the image from the father, in order that they might make the son equal to created things. for at any rate, numbering him among these, those ar

 Of things that are and are not, as we said. but if they are speaking about god and his word, let them add what is missing to the question, and ask thu

 Do both supply what is lacking in each other? for by saying such things, you rather show the weakness of the one who fashioned, if he was not strong e

 Of heretics towards their parents 26.69 refutes their malice. for they recognized what is according to nature, and henceforth were ashamed about the t

 For it is of things that are, and it was not before it came to be. but things that were not before they came to be, how could they co-exist with the e

 Hence to ask about that which exists, but is neither begotten of any, nor has a father for itself they will hear from us that the one so signified, t

 Created things are signified, so also 'father' is indicative of the son and the one who names god maker and creator and unbegotten sees and apprehend

 Not existing god and a created son, they consequently collected for themselves such expressions as were fitting for a creature but since, when they a

 That some grace and state of virtue has accrued to a certain particular substance, and that this is so called word, and son, and wisdom, in such a way

 He partook, as we said or the other alternative, which may it be turned upon their own heads, they must needs say, that he was not before this, but w

 He humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even death on a cross. therefore god has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is abo

 With him, and let us enter into the gates of the heavens, which he himself again opened for us, as those who run before say: lift up the gates, o ye r

 To become of god and in the epistle he writes: by this we know that he abides in you, from his spirit, which he has given to us. and this is also a

 That god bestowed upon him, and the heretics think it to be a defect or a passion of the substance of the word, it is necessary to say how these thing

 John's gospel: i have sent them into the world, and for their sake i sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified in truth. and saying this, he

 To the immortal one who has taken on the mortal? or what improvement to the eternal one who has put on the temporal? and what greater reward could the

 Your throne, o god, is for ever and ever a scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your 26.116 kingdom and announcing his descent to us, he says: t

 Should attempt it, the deceit of the serpent himself would be weakened, and the lord being unchangeable and unalterable, the serpent would become weak

 And after a little: wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the apostle and high priest of our profession, jesus, who wa

 And the occasion of the apostolic saying, the foolish would not have been so impious, taking human things to refer to the godhead. and it is possible

 Saying that 'having become' is equivalent to 'having been begotten,' and that he is better, he says. for what is begotten does not differ, whether one

 Might show from their end the nature of created things. for the things that are able to perish, even if they do not perish because of the grace of the

 Disciples have discipled all the nations, and now what is written has been fulfilled: they shall all be taught by god. and then, the things shown were

 Ascending and descending but concerning the son he says: and let all the angels of god worship him and when angels minister, they say, i was sent to

 Help to those in need. for god is always and the same but men came to be after these things through the word, when the father himself willed it and

 Therefore, neither what is written in the proverbs, the lord created me as the beginning of his ways for his works, nor what was said by the apostle

 Folly, how could the second thing, which is according to will, come to be? but the word is first, and creation is second. but the word exists, even if

 To deny the natural and genuine generation of the son from the father but when they hear the terms and words for 'creature', they are immediately car

 Not even one. but if he himself is the word and the wisdom, in whom all things are made, then he is not one of the things made, nor at all of the thin

 From the history according to the law and aaron. thus aaron was not born a high priest, but a man, and after a time, when god willed, he became a high

 Unless when he himself likewise partook of blood and flesh with us? and when did he become a merciful and faithful high priest, if not when he was mad

 For the sake of sanctifying the flesh he became man and being lord, was in the form of a servant for all creation, which came to be and was made by

 Unto you by mighty works, and wonders, and signs, which god did by him in the midst of you, as you yourselves know. therefore, what is said at the end

 A house of refuge and a god who is a defender, so also our lord has become. and he did not then have a beginning of being but we had a beginning of h

 Of your feet and in the fifteenth: you will not abandon my soul to hades, nor will you allow your holy one to see corruption. that such sayings, ther

 Of this. for being the son of god, he would be like him and being like him, he is in every way both lord and king for he himself says, 'he who has s

 They think they are saying something against the christian faith, it is necessary to examine the text itself, just as the phrase, who was faithful to

 Hymns the truth, and blesses, and trembles but the word is its creator, and he himself says, 'i am the truth.' therefore the word is not a creature,

 To know, but the sight and the knowledge concerning this surpasses all for god himself said: 'no one shall see my face and live' and the son has sai

 Nor would these things have been said about him, if he were at all one of the creatures. but now since he is not a creature, but the proper offspring

 Of these things. but if god so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, o

 It is possible to see, but while the creatures are many, the word is one who does not perceive from these things also, that the son is distinct from

 Being a created son, he was able to be made by god alone. but god is in need of nothing may it never be! for he himself said: i am full. nor did th

 Our weakness, he, being powerful, was made by the father alone, that he might create us through him as through an instrument far from it! it is not s

 He sent forth his word, and healed them. for all these things everywhere expose the arian heresy, and signify the eternity of the word, and that he is

 To the impassible and unchangeable god, so that by these they might disturb the ears of the more simple, and turn them away from the truth? for who, h

 Of him, who is the subject of our discourse. he is therefore creator, and without him was made not one thing, nor is it possible for anything to be ma

 For just as one would not say that the divinity mentioned here is christ, but that it is the father himself so also i think his eternal power and div

 The word of god, was preached by john: the word became flesh, and, all things were made through him. wherefore also concerning our lord jesus christ a

 Washing? for what fellowship has the creature with the creator? or why is that which is made numbered together with the one who made it for the perfec

 Having a correct one. for this reason, therefore, the savior also did not simply command to baptize, but first he says, 'make disciples ' then thus: '

 To john in the gospel, saying: these things i have spoken to you in proverbs, but the hour is coming when i will no longer speak to you in proverbs, b

 The one created according to god in righteousness and holiness of the truth. for neither did david speak of a people being created in substance, 26.24

 To the offspring, what is called the beginning of ways because he is the only-begotten word. for if he is an offspring, how do you call him a creature

 And wisdom but the things that have come into being, not existing before, were made through the word himself. therefore that much-talked-of saying of

 To work. but noah was not created for the sake of the ark, but that he might first exist and become a man for after these things he received the comm

 It is clear that, pre-existing, he is later formed, and the formation signifies not the beginning of his being, but the incarnation, in which he also

 Having learned from him, the apostle also said: since therefore the children share in blood and flesh, he himself likewise partook of the same things,

 It is proper and characteristic of man to say, “he created,” and, “he made him.” for this reason, then, the cause of, 26.268 “he created,” is also add

 And in this again you have dared to be impious toward the lord, saying that he is a work, or a creature, that is, a begotten thing? for you assert tha

 To beget, is significant of the son, but to make, is indicative of works. for this reason, then, we are not first begotten, but are made for it is wr

 And in this he is called and is our firstborn, since, when all men were perishing through the transgression of adam, his flesh was the first of all to

 Be considered apart from the children of jacob. but also concerning the lord himself the apostle has not said, that he might become the firstborn of a

 26.285 since truth, therefore, has shown that the word is not by nature a creature, it follows then to say, how he is also called the beginning of th

 The father for perfection, these are the things for which he is created, saying in the proverbs: the lord created me as the beginning of his ways for

 He came, then, not to be ministered to, but to minister, and to work out our salvation. indeed, being able to speak the law from heaven, he saw that i

 Son and man would not have been brought to the father, if the word who put on the body had not been by nature and truly his word. and just as we woul

 Had been made, and scripture would neither have distinguished him from the works, nor would it have named some things works, and preached the word and

 He was speaking of himself, i saw 26.304 that such a characteristic was not of a creature, but of divinity and of the father's nature. therefore the a

 The redemption and salvation prepared for us beforehand, rising again, we might remain immortal, when he for our sakes is created the beginning of the

 May be renewed, and planning this, he prepares it beforehand, and gives to the one who has worked the preparation for renewal, and the pre-preparation

 For since in the wisdom of god the world through wisdom knew not god? or how, if there is no wisdom, is a multitude of wise men found in scripture? an

 Before all hills he begets me so that in saying “before all creation” (for in these words he indicated all creation) he might show that he was not cr

 By saying, he who has seen me has seen the father, and, i am in the 26.321 father, and the father is in me. therefore your boast has been shown to be

 Is sanctified but the son himself is not a son by participation, but is the proper offspring of the father. again, the son is not in the father in th

 Consequently the son is in the father, and the father is in the son. for this reason, having previously and fittingly said, 'i and the father are one,

 Worships also the king for the image is his form and his shape. since, therefore, the son is the image of the father, it is necessary to understand t

 As has been said but when the son came, he glorified not himself, but the father, saying to the one who came to him: why do you call me good? no one

 Having joined himself to the father, he showed that he is of the nature of the father, and gave us to know that he is the true offspring of the true f

 Father who is in heaven, and observing the saying, therefore be imitators of god, as beloved children and walk in love, just as christ also loved us.

 His grandsons ephraim and manasseh, he said: the god who has fed me from my youth until this day the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless t

 For he is the radiance of the father and thus the father and the son are one. but one would not say this concerning things that are begotten and crea

 Form of godhead, which is also in the word and one god the father, being in himself as being over all and appearing in the son as pervading through

 Your former thoughts, we have devised a newer one and say: thus the son and the father are one, and thus the father is in the son, and the son is in t

 But the savior, showing what herod was like, said: go tell that fox and to the disciples he commanded: behold, i send you out as sheep in the midst o

 Like is by nature united to like since also all flesh is gathered together according to its kind. the word, therefore, is unlike us, but like the fat

 In me is the salvation of men, i ask that they also may become one, according to the body in me, and according to its perfection that they also may b

 Mind, and he will teach how we are in god, and god in us and how again we become one in him, but how far the son is distant in nature from us and he

 The holy and paraclete spirit in god departed from him, but he will be in that one to whom the sinner has subjected himself, as it happened in the cas

 And to speak more jewishly according to caiaphas: why at all, being a man, did christ make himself god? for the jews then, seeing these things and thi

 Understanding the sayings which they were alleging, it is possible somehow to learn from the few things said before but that also in what they now ag

 They say is a race. of old, therefore, it happened to each of the saints, and he sanctified those who genuinely received him but neither, when they w

 Not any of the created beings, nor any common man, but him who is from god, by nature and true son, this one who also became man, we call upon him non

 His own body. and he himself remains by nature impassible, as he is, not being harmed by these, but rather making them disappear and destroying them

 Which he possesses eternally. for that was given, and was delivered, and the like, do not diminish the godhead of the son, but rather show him to

 In the father, and the father in me. therefore this is clear to everyone, that to be ignorant belongs to the flesh, but the word himself, as he is wor

 Of glory, they crucified. for he had that which he asked for, saying: with the glory that i had with you before the world was. and the authority which

 The hour of the day what could one say more foolish than these things, or what madness could one equate to them? through the word all things were mad

 Has been determined, and he himself knows what was determined through him. for there is nothing, which has not both come to be and been determined thr

 Bridegroom. he knows when and at what hour he is coming, and when he is about to say: awake, you who sleep, and arise from the dead, and christ will s

 And yet knowing, he says, not even the son knows. for what reason then did he say, i do not know, what he himself, as lord, knows? one who investigate

 For in saying this, he wishes us to be always ready for you, he says, do not know but i the lord know when i am coming, even if the arians do not ex

 Was he capable of advancement? for men, being creatures, are able in a way to advance and make progress in virtue enoch, at least, was thus translate

 Manifest to all. wherefore it does not say, the word advanced, but, jesus, which name the lord was called when he became man so that the advance was

 They number with creation him through whom creation came to be. what then is left in which these men differ from the jews? for just as those men blasp

 To marvel at the courage of the word, but to say that the word himself was afraid, on account of whom they also despised death? but from the most stea

 They buzz around saying: so be it, you interpret these things thus, and you conquer with your reasonings and your proofs but one must say that the so

 The sophist, having composed with his own words, that the offspring and the made thing are the same, and that the son is one from all existing offspri

 The son is superior to creation, so much also is that which is according to nature superior to the will and it was necessary for them, when they hear

 In a psalm: you held my right hand and by your counsel you have guided me. how then can the word, being the counsel and will of the father, himself c

 Of the father's hypostasis would be by an act of will. for of whatever quality and manner that blessed hypostasis is, such and so must be the proper o

 Saying, if you had a son, before you gave birth? but the fathers, and to say to them: do you become fathers by taking counsel, or by nature and your w

seeing him who sowed the heresy among them at a loss, and that they may learn, even though late, that being Arians, they are not Christians. You have said and you think, at his suggestion, that there was a time when the Son was not; for first we must strip this garment from your invention. What then was there when the Son was not, tell us, O blasphemous and impious ones. If then you say the Father, your blasphemy is greater; for it is not lawful to say that He 'once was,' or to signify Him in the word 'once;' for He is always, and is now, and while the Son is, He is, and He Himself is 'the one who is' and the Father of the Son. But if you say that the Son was once, when He Himself was not; the answer is foolish and unintelligent. For how could He be, and not be? Therefore being at a loss in these things, you are now forced to say, 'There was a time when the Word was not;' for this is what your adverb 'once' naturally signifies. And what you have said again in writing, 'The Son was not before He was begotten,' is the same as for you to say, 'There was a time when He was not;' for both that and this signify that there was time before the Word. Whence then have you invented these things? Why have you too, like the heathen, raged, and imagined vain little phrases against the Lord and against His Christ? For none of the holy Scriptures has said such a thing about the Savior, but rather what is 'always,' what is 'eternal,' and what is 'always with the Father.' For in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And in the Apocalypse he says these things: Who is and who was and who is to come. And from 'who is' and 'who was' who could take away the 'eternal'? For this also Paul, in his letter to the Romans, reproved the Jews, writing: 'from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever;' and putting the Greeks to shame he said: 'For his invisible attributes, from the creation of the world, are clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, both His eternal 26.36 power and divinity.' And what is the power of God, he himself teaches again, saying: 'Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.' For in saying this he does not mean the Father, as you have often whispered to one another, saying: 'The Father is His eternal power.' But it is not so; for he has not said, 'God Himself is the power;' but 'His power.' And it is clear to all, that 'His' is not 'Himself,' nor is it alien, but rather His own. But read the sequence of the words, and turn to the Lord; (Now the Lord is the Spirit;) and you will see that what is signified is about the Son. For in mentioning the creation, he consistently writes also about the power of the Creator in creation, which is the Word of God, through whom also all things were made. If then creation is sufficient by itself alone, without the Son, to make God known, take care lest you fall, thinking that creation also came to be without the Son; but if it came to be through the Son, and in Him all things consist, of necessity he who rightly contemplates creation contemplates also the Word who created it, and through Him begins to understand the Father; and if also according to the Savior, 'No one knows the Father except the Son, and he to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him;' and to Philip saying, 'Show us the Father,' He did not say, 'look at creation,' but 'He who has seen me has seen the Father;' reasonably Paul, accusing the Greeks because, contemplating the harmony and order of creation, they do not think about the creative Word in it; (for creatures indicate their own creator;) so that through them they might understand the true God, and cease from the worship of created things, has said, 'both His eternal power and divinity,' in order to signify the Son. And when the saints say, 'who was before the ages,' and 'through whom He made the ages,' they no less again proclaim the eternity of the Son and His everlastingness, in which they also signify God Himself. For Isaiah says: 'The everlasting God, who has prepared the ends of the earth;' and Susanna said: 'O everlasting God;' and Baruch wrote: 'I will cry to the Everlasting in my days;' and after

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βλέποντες ἀποροῦντα τὸν ἐπι σπείραντα τὴν αἵρεσιν αὐτοῖς, καὶ μάθωσι κἂν ὀψέ ποτε, ὅτι, Ἀρειανοὶ ὄντες, οὐκ εἰσὶ Χριστιανοί. Εἰρήκατε καὶ φρονεῖτε, ὑποβάλλοντος ὑμῖν ἐκείνου, ὅτι ἦν ποτε, ὅτε οὐκ ἦν ὁ Υἱός· τοῦτο γὰρ πρῶτον ὑμῶν τῆς ἐπινοίας ἀποδῦσαι τὸ ἔνδυμα δεῖ. Τί τοίνυν ἦν ποτε ὅτε ὁ Υἱὸς οὐκ ἦν, εἴπατε, ὦ δύσφημοι καὶ δυσσεβεῖς. Εἰ μὲν οὖν τὸν Πατέρα λέ γετε, μείζων ὑμῶν ἡ βλασφημία· οὐ γὰρ θέμις εἰπεῖν, ὅτι ποτὲ ἦν, ἢ ἐν τῷ ποτὲ σημαίνειν αὐτόν· ἔστι γὰρ ἀεὶ, καὶ νῦν ἐστιν, ὄντος τε καὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ ἐστι, καὶ αὐτός ἐστιν ὁ ὢν καὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ Πατήρ. Εἰ δὲ λέγετε ὅτι ὁ Υἱὸς ἦν ποτε, ὅτε αὐτὸς οὐκ ἦν· μωρὰ καὶ ἀνόητός ἐστιν ἡ ἀπόκρισις. Πῶς γὰρ ἦν αὐτὸς, καὶ οὐκ ἦν αὐτός; Οὐκοῦν ἐν τούτοις ἀπο ροῦντας ὑμᾶς ἀνάγκη λοιπὸν λέγειν, Ἦν ποτε χρό νος, ὅτε οὐκ ἦν ὁ Λόγος· τοῦτο γὰρ φύσει ση μαίνει καὶ αὐτὸ τὸ ποτέ ὑμῶν ἐπίῤῥημα. Καὶ ὅπερ δὲ πάλιν γράφοντες εἰρήκατε, Οὐκ ἦν ὁ Υἱὸς πρὶν γεννηθῇ, ταυτόν ἐστι λέγειν ὑμᾶς, Ἦν ποτε ὅτε οὐκ ἦν· χρόνον γὰρ εἶναι κἀκεῖνο καὶ τοῦτο πρὸ τοῦ Λόγου σημαίνει. Πόθεν οὖν ὑμῖν ἐξεύρηται ταῦτα; Ἵνα τί καὶ ὑμεῖς, ὡς τὰ ἔθνη, ἐφρυάξατε, καὶ μελετᾶτε κενὰ λεξείδια κατὰ τοῦ Κυρίου καὶ κατὰ τοῦ Χριστοῦ αὐτοῦ; Οὐδεμία γὰρ τῶν ἁγίων Γραφῶν τοιοῦτόν τι περὶ τοῦ Σωτῆρος εἴρηκεν, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον τὸ ἀεὶ, τὸ ἀΐδιον, καὶ τὸ συνεῖναι ἀεὶ τῷ Πατρί. Ἐν ἀρχῇ γὰρ ἦν ὁ Λόγος, καὶ ὁ Λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν, καὶ Θεὸς ἦν ὁ Λόγος. Καὶ ἐν τῇ Ἀποκαλύψει τάδε λέγει· Ὁ ὢν καὶ ὁ ἦν καὶ ὁ ἐρχόμενος. Τοῦ δὲ ὁ ὢν καὶ τοῦ ὁ ἦν τίς ἂν ἀφέλοιτο τὸν ἀΐδιον; Τοῦτο γὰρ καὶ ὁ Παῦλος ἐν τῇ πρὸς Ῥωμαίους Ἰουδαίους μὲν ἤλεγχε γράφων· Ἐξ ὧνὁ Χριστὸς τὸ κατὰ σάρκα, ὁ ὢν ἐπὶ πάντων Θεὸς εὐλογητὸς εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας· Ἕλληνας δὲ ἐντρέπων ἔλεγε· Τὰ γὰρ ἀόρατα αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ κτίσεως κόσμου τοῖς ποιήμασι νοούμενα καθορᾶται, ἥ τε ἀΐδιος 26.36 αὐτοῦ δύναμις καὶ θειότης. Τίς δὲ ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ δύνα μις, αὐτὸς πάλιν διδάσκει λέγων· Χριστὸς Θεοῦ δύναμις, καὶ Θεοῦ σοφία. Οὐ γὰρ δὴ τοῦτο λέ γων τὸν Πατέρα σημαίνει, ὡς πολλάκις πρὸς ἀλλή λους ἐψιθυρίσατε λέγοντες· Ὁ Πατήρ ἐστιν ἡ ἀΐδιος αὐτοῦ δύναμις. Οὐκ ἔστι δὲ οὕτως· οὐ γὰρ εἴρηκεν, αὐτὸς ὁ Θεός ἐστιν ἡ δύναμις· ἀλλ' αὐτοῦ ἐστιν ἡ δύναμις. Εὔδηλον δὲ πᾶσίν ἐστιν, ὡς τὸ αὐ τοῦ οὐκ ἔστιν αὐτὸς, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ ξένον, ἴδιον δὲ μᾶλλον αὐτοῦ. Ἀνάγνωτε δὲ καὶ τὴν ἀκολουθίαν τῶν ῥημάτων, καὶ ἐπιστρέψατε πρὸς Κύριον· (Ὁ δὲ Κύριος τὸ Πνεῦμά ἐστι·) καὶ ὄψεσθε περὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ εἶναι τὸ σημαινόμενον. Περὶ γὰρ τῆς κτίσεως μνημονεύων, ἀκολούθως γράφει καὶ περὶ τῆς ἐν τῇ κτίσει τοῦ δημιουργοῦ δυνάμεως, ἥτις ἐστὶν ὁ Λόγος τοῦ Θεοῦ, δι' οὗ καὶ τὰ πάντα γέγονεν. Εἰ μὲν οὖν αὐτάρκης ἐστὶν ἡ κτίσις ἀφ' ἑαυτῆς μόνης χωρὶς Υἱοῦ γνωρίσαι τὸν Θεὸν, σκοπεῖτε μὴ πέσητε, νομίζοντες καὶ χωρὶς Υἱοῦ τὴν κτίσιν γεγονέναι· εἰ δὲ δι' Υἱοῦ γέγονε, καὶ ἐν αὑτῷ τὰ πάντα συνέστηκεν, ἐξ ἀνάγκης ὁ τὴν κτίσιν ὀρθῶς θεωρῶν θεωρεῖ καὶ τὸν ταύτην δημιουργήσαντα Λό γον, καὶ δι' αὐτοῦ τὸν Πατέρα νοεῖν ἄρχεται· εἰ δὲ καὶ κατὰ τὸν Σωτῆρα, Οὐδεὶς γινώσκει τὸν Πατέρα εἰ μὴ ὁ Υἱὸς, καὶ ᾧ ἂν ὁ Υἱὸς ἀποκαλύψῃ· τῷ τε Φιλίππῳ λέγοντι, ∆εῖξον ἡμῖν τὸν Πατέρα, οὐκ ἔλεγε, βλέπε τὴν κτίσιν, ἀλλ' Ὁ ἐμὲ ἑωρακὼς ἑώρακε τὸν Πατέρα· εἰκότως ὁ Παῦλος, αἰτιώμενος τοὺς Ἕλληνας, ὅτι, τὴν ἁρμονίαν καὶ τὴν τάξιν τῆς κτίσεως θεωροῦντες, οὐ διανοοῦνται περὶ τοῦ ἐν αὐτῇ δημιουργοῦ Λόγου· (τὰ γὰρ κτίσματα μηνύει τὸν ἑαυτῶν δημιουργόν·) ἵνα δι' αὐτῶν καὶ τὸν ἀληθινὸν Θεὸν νοήσωσι, καὶ παύσωνται τῆς εἰς τὰ κτίσματα λατρείας, εἴρηκεν, ἥ τε ἀΐδιος αὐτοῦ δύ ναμις καὶ θειότης, ἵνα τὸν Υἱὸν σημάνῃ. Λέγον τες δὲ οἱ ἅγιοι, Ὁ ὑπάρχων πρὸ τῶν αἰώνων, καὶ δι' οὗ ἐποίησε τοὺς αἰῶνας, οὐδὲν ἧττον πάλιν τὸ ἀΐδιον εὐαγγελίζονται τοῦ Υἱοῦ καὶ τὸ αἰώνιον, ἐν ᾧ καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν Θεὸν σημαίνουσιν. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ Ἡσαΐας φησί· Θεὸς αἰώνιος, ὁ κατασκευάσας τὰ ἄκρα τῆς γῆς· ἡ δὲ Σουσάννα ἔλεγεν· Ὁ Θεὸς ὁ αἰώνιος· ὁ δὲ Βαροὺχ ἔγραφε· Κεκράξομαι πρὸς τὸν αἰώ νιον ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις μου· καὶ μετ'

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