致塞拉皮翁論聖靈 第 1 章

The letter of your sacred devotion was delivered to me in the desert.

And although the persecution pressing upon us was bitter, and great was the search of those seeking to destroy us,

yet the Father of mercies and God of all comfort comforted us also through your letter.

For as I called to mind your devotion and that of all the faithful, I seemed to have them present with me then.

For a long while, then, I rejoiced as I held the letter;

but when I read it, I began again to be disheartened, because of those who have once made it their practice to fight against the truth.

For you wrote, beloved and truly most longed-for one, grieving yourself, that certain ones had departed from the Arians on account of their blasphemy against the Son of God, but were minded against the Holy Spirit, saying that He is not only a creature, but is even one of the ministering spirits, and differs from the angels only in degree.

Now this is, toward the Arians, a feigned contention;

but it is a true gainsaying against the godly faith.

For just as those men, in denying the Son, deny also the Father,

so these too, in speaking evil against the Holy Spirit, speak evil also against the Son.

And both parties have divided between them the opposition to the truth, that the one, minded against the Word, and the other, against the Spirit, might hold the same blasphemy against the Holy Trinity.

Perceiving these things, then, and pondering much, I fell into despondency, that the devil had again found a way to make sport in those who feign his madness;

and having judged it so, I was minded to keep silence at such a season;

but on account of the exhortation of your holiness, and because of their heterodoxy and satanic rashness, I have written this letter in few words—and that with difficulty—only that you too, taking from it an occasion, may according to the understanding that is in you supply what is lacking, and that the refutation of the impious heresy may be made complete.

Now to the Arians this notion also is no alien thing.

For having once denied the Word of God, they naturally blaspheme in the same way against His Spirit also;

for what has been said before against them suffices.

But toward those who have been deceived concerning the Spirit, it is fitting, after a manner—as they themselves would say—to make inquiry and to speak.

For one might well marvel at the folly of these men: that, though they will not have the Son of God to be a creature—and in this they are rightly minded—how could they endure even to hear the Spirit of the Son called a creature? For if, on account of the unity of the Word with the Father, they will not have the Son Himself to be among things originated, but are minded—as is truly the case—that He is the Maker of created things,

yet they fashion it for themselves as composed of two natures, differing one from another, because of the Spirit's being of another essence than the Son, as they have made up for themselves.

What kind of theology, then, is this, composed of Creator and creature? For either it is not a Trinity, but a duad, and the rest is creation; or, if it is a Trinity—as indeed it is—how do they rank with the creatures that come after the Trinity the Spirit of the Trinity? For this is once more to divide and dissolve the Trinity.

Therefore, thinking wrongly concerning the Holy Spirit, neither do they think rightly concerning the Son.

For if they thought rightly concerning the Word, they would think soundly also concerning the Spirit, who proceeds from the Father, and being the Son's own, is given by Him to the disciples and to all who believe on Him.

But going thus astray, neither do they have a sound faith concerning the Father.

For those who set themselves against the Spirit, as the great martyr Stephen said, these also deny the Son;

and denying the Son, neither do they have the Father.

Whence, then, O you men, comes the occasion of such great boldness in you, that you should not fear what was spoken by the Lord:

“Whoever shall blaspheme against the Holy Spirit has no forgiveness, neither in this age nor in the age to come”? For the Arians, indeed—though they did not understand the incarnate presence of the Word and the things spoken on account of it—nevertheless, taking occasion from these for their own heresy, were thus convicted as fighters against God and as truly babbling vain things out of the earth.

But you—whence were you deceived? from whom did you hear it, or what is the manner of such an error of yours? “We read,” they say, “in the prophet Amos, where God says: Behold, I am He that establishes the thunder, and creates the spirit/wind, and declares unto men His Christ;”

“who makes the morning and the mist, and treads upon the high places of the earth—the Lord God, the Almighty, is His name. And thence we were persuaded by the Arians who say that the Holy Spirit is a creature.”

Then the passage in Amos you read;

but what is said in the Proverbs—“The Lord created me as the beginning of His ways for His works”—did you not read, or did you read it? And this you do interpret, as it has the truth, lest you should call the Word a creature;

but what is in the prophet you do not interpret; rather, simply hearing “spirit,” you supposed that the Holy Spirit is said to be a creature. And yet in the Proverbs it is plainly Wisdom that says, “He created me”; and nevertheless, doing well, you interpret the saying, lest you should number among the creatures the creative Wisdom.

But the saying in the prophet has no mark concerning the Holy Spirit; rather it is said simply concerning spirit/wind.

How then, although there is great variety in the Scriptures concerning spirits, and the saying is able to have its own right meaning, do you—as contentious, or as injured by the bite of the Arian serpent—suppose that the Holy Spirit is meant by Amos, only that you may not forget to think Him a creature? Tell us, then, if anywhere in the divine Scripture you find the Holy Spirit spoken of simply as “spirit,” without the addition of being called either “of God,” or “of the Father,” or “Mine,” or “His”—that is, of Christ Himself and of the Son—or “from Me,” which is from God, or with the article, so that it is not said simply “spirit,” but “the Spirit”;

or this very thing, “the Holy Spirit,” or “Paraclete,” or “of truth,” which is of the Son who says, “I am the truth”—so that, hearing simply “spirit,” you should surmise that it is the Holy Spirit? Let there be excepted now from this argument those who, having already received Him, name Him again, and all who, having first learned concerning the Holy Spirit, afterward—as by way of recapitulation and reminder, even when “the Spirit” alone is said—are not ignorant concerning whom they hear;

and especially because thus also it is said with the article.

And altogether, without the article, or the aforesaid addition, the Holy Spirit would not be signified;

such as are the things Paul writes to the Galatians;

the Holy Spirit, which is given to those who believe and are regenerated through the washing of regeneration. And writing also to the Thessalonians:

“Quench not the Spirit”; he was saying to them, who themselves knew what they had received, that they should not, through neglect, quench the grace of the Spirit kindled in them.

And in the Gospels, concerning the Saviour—spoken humanly because of the flesh which He assumed—if the evangelists say, “And Jesus, being full of the Spirit, returned from the Jordan,” and, “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness,” it has the same meaning.

For it had been said before by Luke:

“Now it came to pass, when all the people were baptized, and Jesus having been baptized and praying, that the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form, as a dove, upon Him.” And it was plain that, when “the Spirit” was said, the Holy Spirit was signified.

Thus, then, among those who have the Holy Spirit, even if “the Spirit” alone is said, without the addition concerning Him, it is not doubtful that the Holy Spirit is meant, having especially the article.

But you, answer what has been set before you: whether you have found anywhere in the divine Scripture the Holy Spirit called simply “Spirit,” without the aforesaid addition concerning Him, and apart from the qualification of which we have made mention;

for you will not find it written.

But in Genesis it is written, “And the Spirit of God moved over the water”; and a little after,

“My Spirit shall not abide in these men, because they are flesh.” And in Numbers Moses says to the son of Nun, “Are you jealous for my sake?”

“and would that all the Lord's people were prophets, when the Lord gives His Spirit upon them.” And in the Judges, concerning Othniel:

“And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he judged Israel.” And again:

“And the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah.” And concerning Samson;

“Take not Your Holy Spirit from me.” And again in the hundred and forty-second psalm:

“Your good Spirit shall lead me in a land of uprightness; for Your name's sake, O Lord, You shall preserve my life.” And in Isaiah it is written:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me.” And it had been said before this:

“You took counsel, but not by Me, and made covenants, but not by My Spirit, to add sins to sins.” And again:

“From the beginning I have not spoken in secret;

“when it came to pass, there was I;

“and now the Lord has sent me, and His Spirit.” And a little after He says thus:

“And this is My covenant with them, says the Lord: My Spirit, which is upon you.” And again in what follows He adds, saying:

“Not an elder, nor an angel, but the Lord Himself saved them, because He loved them and spared them;

“He Himself redeemed them, and took them up, and exalted them all the days of the age;

“but they were disobedient, and provoked His Holy Spirit, and it was turned to enmity against them.” And Ezekiel speaks thus:

“I am clean from the blood of this man.” And Micah says:

“The house of Jacob provoked the Spirit of the Lord.” And through Joel God says:

“And it shall come to pass after this, that I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh.” And through Zechariah again it is the voice of God who says:

“Yet receive My words and My ordinances, all that I command by My Spirit to My servants the prophets.” And when the prophet also brought accusation against the people, he said a little after:

“...and the words which the Lord Almighty sent in His Spirit by the hand of the former prophets.” And these things, gathered out of the Old Testament, we have set forth as a few.

But do you also inquire concerning the things in the Gospels and what the apostles wrote, and you will hear how there too, although there is great variety of spirits, the Holy Spirit in particular is named not simply “Spirit,” but with the addition of which we spoke.

Now the Lord, when, as I said before, He was baptized humanly because of the flesh which He bore, is said to have had the Holy Spirit descend upon Him;

giving this to the disciples, He said,

“Receive the Holy Spirit”; and He taught them,

“The Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things.” And a little after, concerning the same, He said:

“When the Paraclete is come, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He shall bear witness concerning Me.” And again:

“For it is not you that speak, but the Spirit of your Father that speaks in you.” And a little after:

“But if I cast out the demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” And summing up all the theology and our perfecting—in which He joined us to Himself, and through Himself to the Father—in this He gave charge to the disciples:

“Go, disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” And having promised them that He would send Him, He charged them not to depart from Jerusalem; and after a few days, “When the day of Pentecost was being fulfilled, they were all together in one place;

“and suddenly there came from heaven a sound, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting;

“and there appeared to them tongues parting asunder, as of fire, and it sat upon each one of them;

“and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them to utter.” Hence, then, both through the laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Spirit was given to those being regenerated;

And a certain Agabus prophesied at this time, saying:

“Thus says the Holy Spirit.” And Paul:

“In which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which He purchased through His own blood.” And when the eunuch had been baptized, “the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip.” And Peter wrote:

“Receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of souls;

“concerning which salvation the prophets sought out and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you, searching what or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ in them was signifying, when it testified beforehand the sufferings appointed for Christ, and the glories that should follow these.” And John wrote:

“By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.” And Paul writes—to the Romans:

“But you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwells in you.

“But if anyone has not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.

“But if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is life because of righteousness.

“But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus dwells in you, He that raised up Christ Jesus from the dead shall also give life to your mortal bodies, through His Spirit that dwells in you.” And to the Corinthians:

“For the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.

“For who knows the things of a man, save the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the things of God none has known, save the Spirit of God.

“Now we received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God, that we might know the things freely given to us by God.” And a little after:

“Know you not that you are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” And again:

“But all these things works the one and the same Spirit, dividing to each one severally as He wills.” And again:

“Now the Lord is the Spirit;

“and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” And see how also to the Galatians he writes, saying:

“That the blessing of Abraham might come in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” And again:

“And because you are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying,

“So that you are no longer a slave, but a son.

“And if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.” And to the Ephesians he spoke thus:

“And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed unto the day of redemption.” And again:

“Giving diligence to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” And to the Philippians he spoke with boldness, writing:

“What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretence or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice, yea, and I will rejoice.

“For I know that this shall turn out to my salvation, through your supplication and the supply

“of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope, that in nothing shall I be put to shame.” And again:

“For we are the circumcision, who serve by the Spirit of God, and glory in Christ Jesus.” And to the Thessalonians he solemnly testifies:

“Therefore he that rejects, rejects not man, but God, who gives His Holy Spirit unto you.” And to the Hebrews thus:

“For if the blood of bulls and goats, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled, sanctifies unto the cleanness of the flesh;

“how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish unto God, cleanse our conscience from dead works?” And to the Thessalonians:

“And then shall be revealed the lawless one, whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath/Spirit of His mouth, and bring to nought by the manifestation of His coming.” Behold, how the Holy Spirit is made known throughout all the divine Scripture.

What, then, have you observed of such a kind in the prophet? For the “spirit” now spoken of by the prophet does not even have the article, that you might at least have a pretext.

But you have simply dared to devise for yourselves arguments, and to say that the spirit said to be created is the Holy Spirit—although you might learn even from philological men concerning the difference of spirits.

“In the night I communed with my heart, and my spirit was troubled.” And Baruch, praying, says:

“A soul in straits, and a spirit weary, cries unto You.” And in the song of the three children:

“Bless the Lord, you spirits and souls of the righteous.” And the Apostle writes:

“The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit, that we are children of God.

“And if children, then heirs.” And again:

“No one knows the things of a man, save the spirit of the man which is in him.” And in the epistle to the Thessalonians, praying, he says, “And may your spirit and soul and body be preserved entire, without blame, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” And there are also spoken of “spirits” of the winds, thus—in Genesis:

“And God brought a wind/spirit over the earth, and the water assuaged.” And concerning Jonah:

“And the Lord raised up a wind/spirit upon the sea, and there was a great tempest in the sea;

“and the ship was in danger of being broken up.” And in the hundred and sixth psalm it is written:

“...the crystal, the stormy wind/spirit—the things doing His word.” And in Ezekiel, concerning the lament over Tyre:

“In the heart of the sea, in many waters, your rowers brought you;

“the south wind/spirit broke you in pieces.” And when you yourselves also study the Holy Scriptures, you will find “spirit” spoken of also as the mind that is in the divine words themselves, Paul writing:

“For the letter kills, but the spirit gives life.” For the saying is engraven by letter;

but the mind that is in it is called “spirit.”

Thus also the law is spiritual, that—as he has said again—we should not serve in oldness of letter, but in newness of spirit.

And he himself, giving thanks, said:

“So then I myself with the mind serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin;

“there is now therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.

“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin.” And Philip, wishing to turn the eunuch from the letter to the spirit, said:

“Do you understand what you read?” Such a one Caleb also is witnessed to have been, in Numbers, when God says:

“But My servant Caleb, because another spirit was in him, and he fully followed Me—him will I bring into the land into which he entered there.” For having spoken with another mind than that of those men, he became well-pleasing to God.

Such a heart God exhorted the people to have, through Ezekiel, saying:

“Make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit.” These things, then, being so, and so great a difference being shown concerning the spirits, you would be the better if, hearing of a created spirit, you thought of one of the aforesaid—such as was the one concerning which it is written in Isaiah:

“Aram agreed with Ephraim, and his soul was amazed, and the soul of his people, as a tree in a wood is shaken by the wind/spirit.” And of such a kind was also, “That which the Lord raised up, a wind/spirit upon the sea, on account of Jonah.”

For the winds' spirits/blasts follow the thunder also, as in the case of the rain in the days of Ahab, as it is written:

“And it came to pass here, and unto here, and the heaven grew dark with clouds and wind/spirit.” But since the oracle, they say, makes mention of Christ, accordingly the “spirit” there spoken of is to be understood as nothing other than the Holy Spirit.

Then you observed that the Holy Spirit is named together with Christ;

but where did you take it into your mind to divide Him in nature, and to estrange Him from the Son—so that you say that Christ is not a creature, but call the Holy Spirit a creature? And it is absurd to name together, and to glorify together, things unlike in nature.

For what fellowship, or what likeness, has the creature with the Creator? Since otherwise it were time for you also to number and join together with the Son the creatures made through Him.

It would have sufficed, then, to understand what is written concerning the spirit of the winds, as has been said;

but since you make a pretext of the mention of Christ in the saying, it is necessary to examine accurately what is said, lest perchance even concerning the spirit said to be created we may find a more proper meaning.

What, then, is the meaning of “declaring His Christ unto men,” but that He becomes man, and this is equal to saying:

“Behold, the virgin shall conceive in the womb, and shall bring forth

“and they shall call His name Emmanuel”; and the other things, as many as are written concerning His coming? But when the incarnate presence is being declared concerning the Word, what spirit ought one to understand as being created, save the spirit of men that is re-created and renewed? For this also God promised through Ezekiel, saying:

“And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit will I give you;

“and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh;

“and I will give you a heart of flesh;

“and My Spirit will I put within you.” When, then, was this fulfilled, save when the Lord, being come, renewed all things by grace? For behold, in this saying too the difference of the spirits is shown;

our spirit is that which is renewed;

but the Holy Spirit is not simply “spirit,” but God says that it is His own, in whom also our things are renewed;

as also he who sings in the hundred and third psalm says:

“You take away their spirit, and they fail, and to their dust they return.

“You send forth Your Spirit, and they are created, and You renew the face of the earth.” But if we are renewed in the Spirit of God,

then the Holy Spirit is not the spirit now said to be created, but our own.

And if, because all things came into being through the Word, you are rightly minded that the Son is not a creature;

how is it not blasphemous for you to call a creature the Spirit, in whom the Father, through the Word, perfects and renews all things? And if, because it is written simply that a “spirit” is created, they fashioned for themselves that this is the Holy Spirit;

they ought henceforth to be persuaded that it is not the Holy Spirit that is created, but our own that is renewed in Him;

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within my inward parts.” For here it is said “to create”;

but formerly He “formed,” as Zechariah says:

“Stretching out the heaven, and laying the foundation of the earth, and forming the spirit of man within him.” For what He formerly formed, this, having fallen, He re-created, Himself coming to be in the creature, when the Word became flesh, that—as the Apostle said—He might create the two into one new man, the one created according to God in righteousness and holiness of the truth. For He did not speak as of another man fashioned alongside the man who was made from the beginning according to the image;

but He counseled them to put on the mind created and renewed in Christ;

which also is again made plain through Ezekiel, He saying:

“Make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit.”

For wishing James and John to be His ministers in this, the Lord called them Boanerges, which is, sons of thunder;

so then John truly cries from heaven:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” For formerly the law had a shadow of the good things to come;

but when Christ was declared to men and came, saying...

then, as Paul said, His voice shook the earth, He having promised before:

“Yet once more I will shake not the earth only, but also the heaven.”

And the “yet once more” signifies the removal of the things that are shaken, that the things not shaken may remain.

“The Lord reigns, He has clothed Himself with majesty;

“the Lord has clothed Himself with strength and girded Himself.

“For indeed He established the world, which shall not be shaken.” The saying in the prophet, then, signifies the coming of the Saviour, in which we also were renewed, and the law of the spirit remains unshaken.

But those who are in very deed “Tropici,” having made common cause with the Arians, and having shared with them the blasphemy against the Godhead—so that the one say the Son, and the other the Spirit, is a creature—

dared, as they themselves say, again to invent for themselves “turns” (interpretations), and to wrest also the saying of the Apostle, which he himself wrote rightly to Timothy, saying...

...and that an angel is greater than the others.

First, then, this invention is of the impiety of Valentinus;

and they did not escape notice in uttering the things of that man.

For that man said that, when the Paraclete was sent, there were sent together with Him His coeval angels;

and then, bringing down the Spirit among the angels, while ranking the angels into the Trinity.

For if, according to them, the angels are after the Father and the Son, plainly the angels are of the Trinity, and they would no longer be ministering spirits sent forth unto service, nor sanctified, but would rather themselves be sanctifying others.

What, then, is this so great senselessness of theirs? Where again in the Scriptures did they find the Spirit called an angel? I am compelled to say the same things to them as before.

He was called Paraclete, and spirit of adoption, and spirit of sanctification, and Spirit of God, and Spirit of Christ He was called;

but nowhere an angel, nor an archangel, nor a spirit of ministry, such as the angels are;

but rather, together with the Son, He too is ministered to, Gabriel saying to Mary:

“The Holy Spirit shall come upon you;

“and the power of the Most High shall overshadow you.” But since the Scriptures do not call the Spirit an angel, what defence could there be for these men of such unreasoning boldness?—seeing that even Valentinus, who sowed in them such malice, named the one “Paraclete,” and the others “angels”;

even if—in equal time—he too, the most senseless, ranks the Spirit as coeval with the angels.

“But behold,” they say, “in the prophet Zechariah it is written:

“Thus says the angel that speaks in me.” And it is plain, they say, that it signifies the Spirit to be an angel—the one speaking in him.

But this they would not have said, had they been attending to the reading.

For Zechariah himself, when he saw the vision concerning the lampstand, says:

“And the angel that spoke in me answered, and said:

“Know you not what these things are? And I said:

“And he answered, and spoke to me, saying:

“This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, saying:

“Not by great might, nor by strength, but by My Spirit, says the Lord Almighty.” It is therefore quite clear that the angel speaking to the prophet was not the Holy Spirit, but he himself was an angel, while the Spirit is the Spirit of God the Almighty;

and He is ministered to by an angel, but is undivided from the Godhead, and is the Word's own.

Since, if they make a pretext of the apostolic saying—because “the elect angels” are mentioned after Christ—let them say which of all these is the one ranked with the Trinity. For surely they are not all one in number;

or which of them is the one who came down into the Jordan in the form of a dove? For those who minister are thousands of thousands, and myriads of myriads.

Or why, when the heavens were opened, was it not said, “And there came down one of the elect angels,” but “the Holy Spirit”? Or why does the Lord Himself, when discoursing with the disciples concerning the consummation, in distinguishing say:

“The Son of man shall send forth His angels”? And before these it had been said:

“The angels ministered to Him.” And again He Himself says:

“The angels shall go forth.” But to the disciples, giving, He said, “Receive the Holy Spirit”; and sending them, He said:

“Go, disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” For He did not rank an angel with the Godhead, nor did He join us to Himself and to the Father in a creature, but in the Holy Spirit, whom He Himself, in promising, did not call an angel that He would send, but the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, and receives of Him and is given.

And Moses too, then, knowing that the angels are creatures, but the Holy Spirit is united with the Son and the Father, when God said to him:

“Go, go up hence, you and your people whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, into the land which I swore to Abraham, and to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying:

“To your seed will I give it”;

“a Canaanite...”—he begs off, saying:

“If You Yourself do not go with us, bring me not up hence.” For he did not wish a creature to lead the people, lest they should learn to serve the creation rather than God who created all things.

Indeed, having begged off from the angel, he besought God Himself to lead them.

And when God had promised and said to him:

“This also that you have spoken, this word, will I do;

“for you have found grace before Me, and I know you above all”—it is written in Isaiah:

“He that brought up out of the earth the shepherd of the sheep;

“where is He that put the Holy Spirit in them, He that led Moses up by His right hand?” And a little after he says:

“The Spirit came down from the Lord, and led them.

“So You led Your people, making for Yourself a name of glory.” Who, from these, does not perceive the truth? For when God promised to lead, behold, He no longer promises to send an angel, but His Spirit, which is above the angels, and it is itself leading the people.

And it is shown that the Spirit is not of the creatures, nor is it an angel, but is above the creation, united with the Godhead of the Father.

For God Himself, through the Word, in the Spirit, was leading the people;

whence also throughout all Scripture He says:

“I brought you up out of the land of Egypt;

“you are witnesses, whether there was a strange god among you besides Me.” And the saints address God:

“You led Your people like sheep”; and, “The Lord led them in hope, and they feared not.” To Him also they ascribe the hymn, saying:

“To Him who led His people through the wilderness, for His mercy endures for ever.” And the great Moses continually relates:

“The Lord your God who goes before your face.” The Spirit of God, therefore, would not be an angel, nor a creature, but proper to His Godhead.

For the Spirit being in the people, God through the Son in the Spirit was in them.

“But let this be so,” they themselves also say;

“why then did the Apostle, after Christ, not name the Holy Spirit, but the elect angels?” One might ask them the very same thing:

for behold, in Isaiah it is written:

“Draw near to Me, and hear these things;

“From the beginning I have not spoken in secret;

“when it came to pass, there was I;

“and now the Lord has sent me, and His Spirit.” And in Haggai:

“And now be strong, O Zerubbabel, says the Lord; and be strong, O Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, says the Lord;

“and let all the people of the land be strong, says the Lord;

“and work, for I am with you, says the Lord Almighty, and My Spirit abides in your midst.” And in both these prophets the mention is made only of the Lord and of the Spirit.

What, then, will they say also concerning this? For if, because Paul, having made mention of Christ, was silent concerning the Spirit but mentioned the elect angels, they on this account rank the Spirit among the angels;

it were time for those who light upon these prophetic passages too to reason more boldly even concerning the One passed over in silence.

For whether they say the “Lord” to be the Son, what would they say concerning the Father? Or whether they say the Father, what would they say concerning the Son? For may it not be that anyone should even reckon the blasphemy that follows according to them;

for they must say either that He does not exist, or else number among the things made the One passed over in silence.

But what would they say, if they should hear also the Lord saying:

“He named a man God”—the Son is this man, whom the unjust judge did not regard? Or, because after God He named the man, is the Son third after the man, and the Holy Spirit fourth? And what then, if they should hear the Apostle also, in the same epistle, again saying:

“I charge you before God who quickens all things, and Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed the good confession, that you keep the commandment without spot, without reproach”—then, because he has now kept silence concerning angels and the Spirit, do they doubt concerning the Spirit, whether it exists, and concerning angels, whether they exist? Yes, they doubt, until they have so practised blaspheming concerning the Spirit.

And if they should hear the Scripture saying in Exodus, “And the people feared the Lord, and believed God, and Moses His servant,” will they then number Moses with God, and after God not understand the Son, but Moses only? And what, if they should hear also the patriarch Jacob blessing Joseph and saying:

“The God who has fed me from my youth until this day;

“the angel who has delivered me out of all evils, bless these children”? Then, because after God he named an angel, is the angel first before the Son, or is the Son numbered with angels? Yes, again they will so understand, having a corrupted heart.

But the apostolic faith is not of such a kind, nor would any Christian at all endure these things.

For the holy and blessed Trinity is indivisible and united in itself;

and when the Father is named, there is present also His Word, and the Spirit that is in the Son.

And if the Son also is named, the Father is in the Son, and the Spirit is not outside the Word.

For there is one grace, from the Father, fulfilled through the Son in the Holy Spirit;

and there is one Godhead, and there is one God, who is over all, and through all, and in all.

And the elect angels he fittingly brought in along with them, in order that—since it was a solemn charge being spoken to the disciple—knowing that, whereas the things spoken are uttered from God through Christ in the Spirit, the angels minister the things from us, watching over the deeds of each, he might guard the exhortations of his teacher, as having those who oversee as witnesses of the things spoken.

Or perhaps it is also on account of those who continually behold the face of the Father who is in the heavens that he now solemnly invokes angels, even for the sake of the little ones in the Church, in order that the disciple, knowing the guardians of the peoples, might not neglect the exhortations of the Apostle.

Such, then, is the sense of the divine oracles, as it appears to me, refuting the blasphemy of the unreasoning men against the Spirit;

but they, having their contentiousness persistent against the truth, as you write, no longer from the Scriptures (for they do not find it there), but belching forth from the abundance of their own heart, again assert:

“If it is not a creature, nor one of the angels, but proceeds from the Father,

“then it too is a Son, and they are two brothers—it and the Word.”

“And if it is a brother, how is the Word only-begotten, or how are they not equal, but the one is named after the Father, and the other after the Son? And how, if it is from the Father, is it not also said to have been begotten, or that it is a Son, but simply 'Holy Spirit'? And if the Spirit is of the Son, then the Father is grandfather of the Spirit.”

Such things do the dishonourable men make sport with, busying themselves and wishing to search out the deep things of God, which no one knows save the Spirit of God—the very One being blasphemed by them;

whether the Father is from a father, and whether another has been begotten together with Him, and there are brothers from one, and what is their name, and who again is the Father and grandfather even of these, and who are the forefathers of those? But they will say there are none.

How then is He Father—let them say—Himself not having come to be from a Father? Or how was He able to have a Son, not having Himself first been begotten a Son? I know that the question is impious;

but it is just to make sport with them who make such sport, that even from such absurdity and impious questioning they may be able to perceive their own folly.

Nor is it fitting in this way to ask concerning the Godhead.

For God is not as man, that anyone should dare to ask human things concerning Him.

To keep silence, then, as I said before, in these matters, and not to take notice of such men, were the proper course;

but lest our silence should furnish them an occasion for shamelessness, let them hear:

Just as it is not possible to speak of a father in the case of the Father, so it is not possible to speak of a brother in the case of the Son.

For of the Father, as has been written above, no other God came to be;

wherefore the Father also is alone and one, the Father of an only and one Son;

and in the case of the Godhead alone do the “Father” and the “Son” stand fast always and abide.

For of men, if anyone is called a father, yet he became the son of another;

and if he is called a son, yet he became the father of another;

so that among men the name of father and of son is not preserved in the strict sense.

Abraham, at any rate, being the son of Terah, became the father of Isaac;

and Isaac, being the son of Abraham, became the father of Jacob;

and in this manner is the nature of men;

and each one being begotten has a part of the father, in order that he too may become the father of another.

But in the case of the Godhead it is not so.

For God is not as man, nor has He a divided nature;

wherefore neither does He beget a Son by being divided, that He too should become the father of another, since neither is He Himself from a Father;

nor is the Son a part of the Father;

wherefore neither does He beget, as He Himself was begotten, but He is whole the image and effulgence of the Whole;

and in the case of the Godhead alone is the Father in the strict sense Father;

and the Son is in the strict sense Son;

and in their case stands fast that the Father is always Father, and the Son always Son.

And just as the Father could never be Son, so the Son could never become Father.

And just as the Father will never cease being alone Father, so the Son will never cease being alone Son.

It is madness, therefore, even at all to think and to say, in the case of the Son, “brother,” and in the case of the Father, the name of “grandfather.”

For neither was the Spirit named in the Scriptures as “son,” lest it should be thought a brother;

nor as son of the Son, lest the Father should be understood as grandfather;

but the Son is called son of the Father, and the Spirit is called Spirit of the Father.

And thus there is one Godhead and faith of the Holy Trinity.

Therefore, even according to this, it is madness to call it a creature.

For if it were a creature, it would not be ranked with the Trinity.

And it is enough to know that the Spirit is not a creature, nor is it numbered among the things that are made;

for nothing alien is mingled with the Trinity, but it is indivisible and like unto itself.

These things suffice for the faithful;

thus far does knowledge reach among men;

up to this point do the cherubim cover with their wings.

But he who seeks beyond these things, and wishes to pry further, disobeys him who says:

"Be not over-wise, lest you be confounded." For the things delivered by faith ought to be apprehended not in human wisdom but in the hearing of faith.

For what discourse will be able worthily to interpret things that are above created nature? Or what hearing at all can comprehend what it is not lawful for men either to hear or to speak? Concerning the things which Paul heard, he spoke thus:

"How untraceable are his ways!"

"For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counsellor?" Abraham, at any rate, neither pried nor cross-examined him who spoke, but believed, and it was reckoned to him for righteousness; thus too Moses was called a faithful servant.

If they cannot understand nor believe concerning the indivisible and holy Trinity, let them not on this account distort the truth as well, nor let them say that what they themselves cannot understand cannot even exist.

For they suffer a most absurd thing;

namely, that being unable to understand how the holy Trinity is indivisible, the Arians on the one hand make the Son one with the creation;

while the Tropici on the other hand likewise number the Spirit among created things.

They ought either, if they do not understand at all, to keep silence and not to rank—neither the former the Son, nor the latter the Spirit—with the creatures;

or else to acknowledge what is written, and to join the Son to the Father, and not to divide the Spirit from the Son, that the indivisibility and the true consubstantiality of the holy Trinity may remain.

Having learned these things, they ought not to be presumptuous, nor in their doubting to ask how these things came to be, lest, even if the one questioned be at a loss to answer, they themselves devise wickedness against themselves.

For it is impossible for all created beings, and most of all for us men, to speak worthily concerning things ineffable.

But it is yet more presumptuous, when they cannot speak, to devise upon these matters newer terms beyond those of the Scriptures.

Moreover, such an undertaking is madness, both on the part of him who asks and of him who at all ventures to answer.

For not even concerning created things would anyone who asked in this manner be thought to have a sound mind.

Or let those who speak so glibly about everything dare to answer how the heaven was framed, and out of what matter, and what is its composition; or how the sun, and each of the stars, came to be. But what wonder is it to convict their folly from things on high, when not even how the nature of the timber here below, or the constitution of the waters, or how the formation and structure of living creatures comes to be, is known? But they would not be able to do so, since even Solomon, who shared in wisdom more than all, seeing that it was impossible for men to find out concerning these things, said: