Dialogues on the Holy Trinity, Dialogue 1
Dialogue 1 opening: Hermias after the storm; Be still and know§dialogue-1-open
dialogue-1-openA. Yesterday and the day before we could not see sacred Hermias — he seemed neither to shop, I think, nor to go out, but the storm kept him home; that is likely enough. Now fair weather has barely shown bright.
B. You speak the truth. Old age is always hard to please, and most reluctant to go outside when it rains hardest.
A. Then it is graceful and straight speech, if someone chooses, to compare you to the fish in the sea: when a harsh and ill-sounding wind churns the surge and leaps down roaring, they slip one by one and in schools into the hollows in the deep, and diving into the blooming weed as into a wood or thicket, they invent what helps them; but when the gleam of the sun’s ray swims upon the waters and they look out on the whole sea as if already smiling, they take heart, swim up again, and frolic on the crests of the waves, sending fear and hesitation away together.
B. Know well that my case is no other than that, my friend.
A. And for now you are far from crowd and business, and your mind is at rest by the hearth, as I suppose.
B. And what follows from that?
A. Very great and holy-seeming benefit. Or shall we not grant quiet some share among good things?
B. Most certainly.
A. For what is sung from God through the Psalmist’s lyre will surely show the word about this to be true.
B. What do you mean?
A. Be still and know that I am God. Bodily sight, free of dust and smoke and everything that can cloud it, sends a fine and unhindered energy upon the things that usually fall under it. But if some passion wounds it, it strikes the things seen less than it should, and will sometimes miss exactness itself — and that is no surprise. The human mind, if it is quiet and settled and used to leaving stale and foul imagination, will look sharp and clear and take in unerring knowledge of what is. But if some passion thickens it, it will never see through to the divine beauty itself, and will settle as on denser things — like birds soaked through, robbed of upward flight by being bound.
B. You speak well.
Greek · §dialogue-1-open
ΛΟΓΟΣ ΠΡΩΤΟΣ Ὅτι ὁμοούσιος καὶ συναΐδιος τῷ Θεῷ καὶ Πατρὶ ὁ Υἱός. {Α.} Τὸν ἱερὸν ἡμῖν Ἑρμείαν χθές τε καὶ τρίτην ἰδεῖν μὲν οὐκ ἦν, μήτε ἀγοράζειν, οἶμαί που, μήτε μὴν ἐξοίχεσθαι 385 δοκοῦν, ἀλλ' οἴκοι μὲν δὴ κατεσόβει τὸ χεῖμα· πεπρᾶχθαι γὰρ ὧδε καὶ μάλα εἰκός. Λαμπρὰ δὲ νῦν μόλις ἔδειξεν εὐδία. {Β.} Λέγεις ἀληθῆ. Γῆράς τε γὰρ ἀεὶ δυσπέμφελον, καὶ ἐς τὸ ἔξω ἰέναι δυσοκνότατα ἔχον, ἢν μάλιστα ὕοι. {Α.} Εὔχαρι δὴ οὖν καὶ εὐθυεπὲς τό, εἴπερ τις ἕλοιτο, τοῖς ἐν τῇ ἁλί σε παρεικάζειν ἰχθῦσιν, οἳ πνεύματος μὲν ἀπηνοῦς καὶ δυσηχεστάτου διακυκῶντος τὸ ῥόθιον καὶ ῥοιζηδὸν καταθρώσκοντος, χηραμούς τε τοὺς ἐν βυθῷ καθ' ἕνα τε καὶ ἀγεληδὸν εἰσχέονται, καὶ ὥσπερ τινὰ δρυμὸν ἢ λόχμην τὴν εὐανθῆ πόαν εἰσδύνοντες, ἐκμηχανῶνται τὸ ὠφελοῦν· ἐπειδὰν δὲ τοῖς ὕδασι τὸ τῆς ἡλίου βολῆς ἐπι νήχηται σέλας, ὅλην τε αὖ ἤδη καταθρήσειαν οἱονεὶ γελῶσαν τὴν θάλασσαν, ἀναθαρροῦσί τε καὶ ἀνανήχονται, καὶ ἐπ' ἄκρων σκαίρουσι κυμάτων, δεῖμά τε ὁμοῦ καὶ ὄκνον ἀποπεμψάμενοι. {Β.} Ὡς εὖ ἴσθι τοι μὴ ἑτέρως τό γε ἐμόν, ὦ τᾶν, ἢ οὕτως ἔχειν. {Α.} Ὄχλου δὲ δὴ καὶ πραγμάτων εἶ τέως ἀπωτάτω, καὶ ἐνηρεμεῖ σοι κατὰ τὴν ἑστίαν ὁ νοῦς, καθάπερ ἐγᾦμαι. {Β.} Καὶ τί τὸ ἐντεῦθεν; {Α.} Πλείστη τις ὅση καὶ ἁγιοπρεπὴς ἡ ὄνησις. Ἢ οὐχὶ δή τι τῶν ἀγαθῶν καὶ ταῖς ἠρεμίαις δώσομεν; {Β.} Μάλιστά γε. {Α.} Τὸ γάρ τοι παρὰ Θεοῦ διὰ τῆς τοῦ Ψάλλοντος ᾀδόμενον λύρας ἀληθῆ που πάντως τὸν ἐπὶ τούτῳ λόγον ἀποφανεῖ. {Β.} Τὸ ποῖον δὴ φῄς; 386 {Α.} "Σχολάσατε καὶ γνῶτε ὅτι ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ Θεός." Ὄψις μὲν γὰρ ἡ σωματική, κόνεώς τε καὶ καπνοῦ καὶ ἑτέρου παντὸς τοῦ καταθολοῦν ἰσχύοντος ἐλευθέρα, λεπτὴν καὶ ἀπαρεμπόδιστον ἐνίησι τὴν ἐνέργειαν τοῖς ὑποπίπτειν εἰωθόσιν αὐτῇ. Εἰ δὲ δή πού τι κατασίνοιτο τῶν παθῶν, μεῖον μὲν ἢ χρὴ τοῖς ὁρωμένοις προσβαλεῖ, ἀφαμαρτήσει δὲ ὅτι καὶ αὐτῆς τῆς ἀκριβείας ἔσθ' ὅτε τὸ ἀπεικὸς οὐδέν. Νοῦς γε μὴν ὁ ἀνθρώπινος, εἰ μὲν ἠρεμαῖός τις εἴη καὶ καθεστηκώς, καὶ φαντασίας ἑώλου καὶ βδελυρᾶς ἀποφοιτᾷν εἰθισμένος, ὀξύ τε καὶ διειδὲς ἐμβλέψεται, καὶ ἀπλανῆ τῶν ὄντων εἰσδέξεται γνῶσιν. Εἴ γε μὴν ὑπό του καταπαχύνοιτο τῶν παθῶν, οὔτ' ἂν αὐτό ποτε τὸ θεῖον διόψεται κάλλος, ἐνιζήσει δὲ ὥσπερ τοῖς γεωδεστέροις, καθάπερ τὰ τῶν στρουθίων διάβροχα τὴν εἰς τὸ ἄνω πτῆσιν τῷ δεδέσθαι παρῃρημένα. {Β.} Εὖ λέγεις
Prologue to Nemesinus: seven dialogues on the consubstantial Trinity§prologue
prologueThings about God are hard to reach even for those well trained and ready to gaze into mysteries, and to see what lies beyond every mind in a mirror and in a riddle, as the wisest Paul says. Human speech is thick, and cannot keep step with how thin our thoughts are. So there is much fear in speaking about God, and it is wise to choose silence here — yet not without cost for those charged to teach. Knowing this, the divine Paul said, Woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel.
I have therefore come to write the present book, and again for you, most studious brother Nemesinus, I have worked out the discourse on the holy and consubstantial Trinity. Gathering the thoughts on each question as by kind or form, we composed the whole body of the book in seven short discourses; and because Hermias is most fond of letters and often asks about such things, we have addressed them to that most gentle man.
The style is relaxed, and the talk proceeds as question and answer through two speakers. The letter α is set before the first, β before the second. Because what is sought is very subtle, so that by questions and answers the matter under test may always be built up and torn down keenly, bringing in the speakers became necessary. Guard carefully the letters set before them. That way we will keep the finding of thoughts unconfused and set in the best order, and the arrangement and force of the whole book. I pray you be well in the Lord, beloved.
Greek · §prologue
ΠΡΟΛΟΓΟΣ ΤΗΣ ΠΑΡΟΥΣΗΣ ΒΙΒΛΟΥ ∆υσέφικτα μὲν κομιδῇ τὰ περὶ Θεοῦ καὶ τοῖς ἄγαν ἐξησκημένως καὶ ἀρτίως ἔχουσιν εἰς τὸ δύνασθαι καταθρεῖν μυστήρια, καὶ τὰ παντὸς ἐπέκεινα νοῦ καὶ γοῦν "ἐν ἐσόπτρῳ καὶ αἰνίγματι" βλέπειν, κατὰ τὸν σοφώτατον Παῦλον. Παχὺς δὲ δὴ λίαν ὁ ἀνθρώπινος λόγος καὶ τῇ τῶν ἐννοιῶν ἰσχνότητι συμπαρομαρτεῖν οὐχ οἷός τε. Τοιγάρτοι πολὺ τὸ δέος φάναι τὰ περὶ Θεοῦ, καὶ σοφὸν μὲν λίαν τὸ ἔν γε τούτοις ἑλέσθαι σιγᾶν· πλὴν οὔ τί που τοῖς διδάσκειν ἐπιτεταγμένοις ἀζήμιον. Καὶ τοῦτο εἰδὼς ὁ θεσπέσιος ἔφη Παῦλος· "Οὐαὶ γάρ μοί ἐστιν, ἐὰν μὴ εὐαγγελίζωμαι." Ἀφῖγμαι δὴ οὖν ἐπὶ τὴν τοῦδε τοῦ προκειμένου βιβλίου συγγραφήν, καί σοι πάλιν, ὦ φιλομαθέστατε ἀδελφὲ Νεμεσῖνε, τὸν περὶ τῆς ἁγίας τε καὶ ὁμοουσίου Τριάδος ἐκπεπόνηκα λόγον. Κατὰ γένος δὲ ὥσπερ ἤτοι κατ' εἶδος τὰς ἐφ' ἑκάστῳ τῶν ζητουμένων συνενεγκόντες ἐννοίας, ἐν ἑπτὰ λογιδίοις 384 τὸ σύμπαν τοῦ βιβλίου συντεθείκαμεν σῶμα· φιλολογωτάτῳ δὲ ὄντι λίαν καὶ φιλοπευστοῦντι τὰ τοιάδε συχνῶς τῷ ἐπιεικεστάτῳ Ἑρμείᾳ προσπεφωνήκαμεν. Καὶ ἔστι μὲν ἀνειμένος ὁ λόγος, ὡς πρὸς πεῦσιν δὲ καὶ ἀπόκρισιν διὰ δυοῖν προσώποιν ἔρχεται· καὶ τοῦ μὲν πρώτου τὸ α προτέτακται στοιχεῖον, τοῦ δὲ δευτέρου τὸ β. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ πολλή τις ἄγαν ἐν τοῖς ζητουμένοις ἐστὶν ἡ λεπτότης, ἵνα ταῖς ἐρωτήσεσι καὶ ταῖς ἀποκρίσεσιν ἀεὶ τὸ βασανι ζόμενον κατασκευάζηταί τε καὶ ἀνασκευάζηται πικρῶς, ἀναγκαία γέγονεν ἡ τῶν προσώπων εἰσκομιδή. Παραφυ λακτέον οὖν ἀκριβῶς τὰ προτεταγμένα αὐτῶν στοιχεῖα. Ἀσύγχυτον γὰρ οὕτω καὶ ἐν τάξει τῇ παναρίστῃ κειμένην τηρήσομεν τὴν τῶν ἐννοιῶν εὕρεσιν, καὶ τὴν τοῦ παντὸς βιβλίου σύνταξίν τε καὶ δύναμιν. Ἐρρῶσθαί σε ἐν Κυρίῳ εὔχομαι, ἀγαπητέ.
Dial.1 rem early: hard Scripture paths; learn from the saints§dialogue-1-rem-early
dialogue-1-rem-earlyA presses Hermias: at home in quiet, does he keep the divine word in mind, holy books in hand, eagerness sharpening the mind like keen-nosed hounds for the hunt of what must be learned — or will old age be blamed for slackness? Hermias answers that the body is weak at life’s evening, yet the mind still loves learning; like a noble colt forced onto rough, unbroken ground, zeal for the God-breathed Scripture meets paths hard to enter and hard to tread, and at times the rough country drives the mind toward hesitation — especially when the talk is about the faith, the chief point of our hope.
A agrees: gifts from above are not won without sweat. Things too high, with a glory set apart, are not easy trails for whoever wants them; they are hard to take, hard to enter, uphill. What then should those do who long for these fairest findings when reaching them is hardest? Nothing else, A says, than to trust the ways of the holy ones.
Greek · §dialogue-1-rem-early
. {Α.} Ἆρ' οὖν, ὦ Ἑρμεία, σχολαῖος οἴκοι διατελῶν, ταυτησὶ τῆς θείας ἀπομεμνῆσθαι φωνῆς ὅτι προσῆκεν ἡγῇ; Καί σοι καθὰ χθὲς καὶ πρώην βίβλοι μὲν μετὰ χεῖράς εἰσιν ἱεραί, φιλομαθεστάτη δέ τις ἐντρέφεται προθυμία τῷ νῷ, καθάπερ τινὰ τῶν εὐρινοτάτων παραθήγουσα κυνῶν, εἰς φιλοθηρίαν ὧν ἂν δέῃ σε μαθεῖν; Ἢ τάχα που καὶ τῆς ἐπὶ τούτοις ἀφιλεργίας ἀνάψομεν τὰς αἰτίας, ἀφηβηκότι τῷ χρόνῳ τῆς τοῦ σώματος ἡλικίας, ἢ γοῦν ἕτερόν τι καὶ οὐκ ἀληθὲς ἐρεῖς; Κατακερτομοίην δ' ἂν ὡς ἥδιστά σε, τοιόνδε τι λέγων ὡς φιλοψευδές τι χρῆμα καὶ τὰ ἐφ' οἷς ἂν βούλοιτό ποτε καὶ λέγοι πιστὸς ἑτοιμότατα δέχεσθαι ζητοῦν ἄνθρωπος γέρων. {Β.} Πολλὰ μὲν ἂν ἔχοιμι τῆς τοῦ σώματος ἀρρωστίας κατηγορεῖν· ἐπ' αὐτὰς γὰρ ἥκομεν τὰς τοῦ βίου δυσμάς· τὸ δ' οὖν ἀναγκαῖον ἐρῶ, παρεὶς τὰ τοιαῦτα νυνί. Χρηστομαθὴς γὰρ ἀεί πως ὁ νοῦς μὲν ἐμοί, γλίχεται δὲ οὐδενός πω τάχα πλὴν τοῦδέ τε καὶ μόνου· ἀλλ' ὥσπερ τινὰ πῶλον εὐγενῆ τε καὶ δρομικώτατον, καίτοι ποδῶν ἀρετὴν ἀναφαίνειν ἐθέλοντα, τὰ μὴ σφόδρα τῶν πεδίων ἐψιλωμένα καὶ οὐχ ἑκόντα παραβιάζεται διακεκομμένην ὥσπερ καὶ οὐκ εἰς ἅπαν τεθαυμασμένην τῆς ἐνούσης εὐσθενείας αὐτῷ ποιεῖσθαι τὴν ἔνδειξιν· κατὰ τὸν ἴσον, οἶμαι, τουτονὶ τρόπον, καὶ αὐτὸν ἐμὲ θερμῇ τινι καὶ ἀσχέτῳ προθυμίᾳ κατισχημένον εἰς τὸ δεῖν ἑλέσθαι πολυπραγμονεῖν τὰ παρὰ τῇ θεοπνεύστῳ Γραφῇ, δυσέμβατά τε καὶ ἀστιβῆ κατάγχει χωρία, οὐχ 387 ἁπλῆν, ὡς ἄν τις εἰκάσαι, καὶ εὐκατάδρομον ἔχοντα τὴν προσβολήν, οὔτε μὴν τοῖς ἐθέλουσιν ἐκκειμένην ἑλεῖν. Ταύτῃ τοι κατασοβεῖ μὲν εἰς ὄκνον ἔσθ' ὅτε τὸν νοῦν οἱονεί πως ἡ δυσχωρία· καταπέφρικα δὲ τῶν ἄλλων ἁπάντων, ὅτι μάλιστά γε τὸν περὶ πίστεως λόγον, καίτοι κεφάλαιον ὄ
Dial.1 rem mid: Horeb mediator type; the prophet like Moses; Son speaks the Father’s words§dialogue-1-rem-mid
dialogue-1-rem-midFrom Deuteronomy at Horeb on the day of the assembly Israel asked not to hear the Lord’s voice or see the great fire again, lest they die. The Lord said they spoke rightly, and promised: I will raise up a prophet for them from among their brothers, like you, and put my word in his mouth. In Moses’ shadows, A argues, human weakness already showed how needed a mediator is.
Israel said to Moses, . The Creator accepted that request and, shaping the truth beforehand in types, promised Christ’s mediation. The Son himself cries, I have not spoken from myself; the Father who sent me has given me commandment what to say, and the words I speak are not mine but his who sent me. John seals it: the one God sent speaks the words of God. Hermias will not deny the point; A offers to stay on this path of the Son’s mediation rather than dart down another road.
Greek · §dialogue-1-rem-mid
ὅσα ᾐτήσω παρὰ Κυρίου τοῦ Θεοῦ σου ἐν Χωρήβ, τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῆς ἐκκλησίας, λέγοντες· Οὐ προσθήσομεν ἀκοῦσαι τῆς φωνῆς Κυρίου τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡμῶν, καὶ τὸ πῦρ τὸ μέγα τοῦτο οὐκ ὀψόμεθα ἔτι, οὐδὲ μὴ ἀποθάνωμεν. Καὶ εἶπε Κύριος πρός με· Ὀρθῶς πάντα ὅσα ἐλάλησαν. Προφήτην ἀναστήσω αὐτοῖς ἐκ μέσου τῶν ἀδελφῶν αὐτῶν ὥσπερ σέ· καὶ δώσω τὸ ῥῆμά μου ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτοῦ, καὶ λα λήσει αὐτοῖς καθότι ἂν ἐντείλωμαι αὐτῷ. Καὶ ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἐκεῖνος ὃς ἐὰν μὴ ἀκούσῃ τῶν λόγων αὐτοῦ, ὅσα ἐὰν λαλήσει ὁ προφήτης ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματί μου, ἐγὼ ἐκδικήσω ἐξ αὐτοῦ." Ἆρ' οὐκ ἐμφανῶς, ὡς ἐν τύποις ἔτι καὶ σκιαῖς, ἔν γε τοῖς κατὰ Μωσέα, τὴν τοῦ μεσιτεύοντος χρείαν ἀναγκαιοτάτην ἀπέδειξε τὸ τῆς ἀνθρωπότητος ἀσθενές; Πλὴν ἐκεῖνο διασκεπτέον. {Β.} Τὸ ποῖόν τι φῄς; {Α.} Μωσῇ μὲν γὰρ προσιόντες· "Λάλει σὺ πρὸς ἡμᾶς, καὶ μὴ λαλείτω πρὸς ἡμᾶς ὁ Θεός, ἵνα μὴ ἀποθάνωμεν," ἔφασκεν ὁ Ἰσραήλ· καὶ τοῦτο ἐζήτουν ἐν Χωρὴβ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῆς ἐκκλησίας, ὅτε Θεὸς ἦν ἐν εἴδει πυρὸς ἐπὶ τὸ ὄρος Σινᾶ. Ἀλλ' ὡς ἄριστα τουτὶ λέγοντάς τε καὶ διεσκεμμένους ἀπεδέχετο μὲν ὁ ∆ημιουργός, προαναπλάττων δὲ ὥσπερ καὶ αὐτὴν ἡμῖν ἐν τύποις τὴν ἀλήθειαν, τὴν διὰ Χριστοῦ μεσιτείαν ὑπισχνεῖτο λέγων· "Ὀρθῶς πάντα ὅσα ἐλάλησαν. Προφήτην αὐτοῖς ἀναστήσω ἐκ μέσου τῶν ἀδελφῶν αὐτῶν, ὥσπερ σέ·" μεσίτην δηλονότι, καὶ τοὺς ἄνωθέν τε καὶ θείους διαπορθμεύοντα λόγους, καὶ κατασημαίνοντα τῷ λαῷ τὸ τῇ ἀφράστῳ τε καὶ ἀρρήτῳ φύσει δοκοῦν, ὃ καὶ ἀταλαίπωρον κομιδῇ καὶ δι' αὐτοῦ τοῦ Χριστοῦ τετελεσμένον ἰδεῖν. Ἀνεκεκράγει γὰρ ἐναργῶς ὅτι "Ἐγὼ ἐξ ἐμαυτοῦ οὐκ ἐλάλησα, ἀλλ' ὁ πέμψας με Πατήρ, αὐτός μοι ἐντολὴν δέδωκε τί εἴπω καὶ τί λαλήσω." Καὶ πάλιν· "Τὰ ῥήματα ἃ ἐγὼ λαλῶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐ
Dial.1 rem CLOSEOUT: Father and Son names mark begetting, not interchangeable ranks§dialogue-1-rem-close
dialogue-1-rem-closeTruth — that is, Christ — does not lie when he says to the Father, All that is mine is yours, and yours mine, and I am glorified in them. If “Father” and “Son” were only titles of rank like other shared honors, what would stop us from erasing the difference and calling both Fathers and Sons, crowned alike? Hermias finds that wholly unbelievable: the Father remains Father; the Son remains Son and is not thought Father.
A: most true. So fatherhood’s name on the Father is not a mere badge of dignity, nor sonship’s name on the Son, as when both are called life or light; each name is proper and shows how each is. To refuse pouring the names into one another, and to ask a stable seat for each, keeps each one’s being unaltered: the Father is Father and not Son, because he has begotten; the Son is Son and not Father, because he has been begotten. Strip the names in thought and call each simply God or life or king — the distinction goes dark. Only by thinking “he has begotten” is the Father truly marked; only by being thought begotten is the Son. That closes Dialogue 1’s rem path. DIALOGUE 1 CLOSEOUT.
Greek · §dialogue-1-rem-close
τά τε εἰς δόξαν καὶ ὑπεροχήν. ∆ιαψεύσεται δὲ οὐδαμῶς ἡ ἀλήθεια, τουτέστι Χριστός, πρὸς τὸν ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς Πατέρα λέγων ὅτι "Πάντα τὰ ἐμὰ σά ἐστι, καὶ τὰ σὰ ἐμά, καὶ δεδόξασμαι ἐν αὐτοῖς." Εἴπερ οὖν ἐν ἀξιώματος νόμῳ, καθάπερ καὶ τὰ λοιπά, προσεῖναί φαμεν τῷ μὲν Πατρὶ τὸ Πατήρ, τῷ δὲ Υἱῷ τὸ Υἱός, τί τὸ ἐμποδών, εἰπέ μοι, καὶ τί τὸ ἀπεῖργον ἐκ μέσου ποιεῖσθαι τοῖν ὀνομάτοιν τὴν διαφοράν, ἄμφω τε Πατέρας καὶ Υἱοὺς ἀποκαλεῖν, κοινὰ καὶ ἐν ἴσῃ τάξει 416 λαχόντας τὰ γέρα, καὶ ταῖς τῶν ἀξιωμάτων ὑπεροχαῖς ἰσομέτρως κατεστεμμένους; {Β.} Καὶ μὴν τοῦτό γέ ἐστι παντελῶς ἀπίθανον εἰπεῖν ἢ νοεῖν. Εἴη γὰρ ἂν οὐχ ἑτέρως ἔχων ὁ Πατὴρ ἢ ὅπερ ἐστί, τουτέστι Πατήρ· καὶ ὁ Υἱὸς ὁμοίως· μένει γὰρ Υἱός, καὶ οὐκ ἂν νοοῖτο Πατήρ. {Α.} Ὀρθότατά γε καὶ ἀληθῶς, ὦ Ἑρμεία. Συναινέσεις οὖν ἄρα καὶ συναθλήσεις τῷ λόγῳ, παραδεικνύντι σαφῶς ὡς οὐκ ἀξιώματος ἔσται σημαντικὸν τῷ Πατρὶ τὸ τῆς πατρότητος ὄνομα–δεῖν γὰρ οἶμαι καὶ ὧδε λέγειν, προ τετιμηκότας τοῦ πρέποντος τὴν ἀναγκαίαν τοῦ πράγματος δήλωσιν–, οὔτε μὴν τῷ Υἱῷ ἡ τῆς υἱότητος κλῆσις, καθάπερ ἦν ἐπ' ἀμφοῖν λεγόμενα, τὸ ζωή, τὸ φῶς καὶ τὰ τούτοις συντεταγμένα· ἀλλ' ἴδιον ἑκατέρῳ τοὔνομα, τὸ ὅπως ἂν ἔχοι παραδηλοῦν. {Β.} Καὶ μάλα. {Α.} Τὸ γὰρ ἀποσείεσθαι τρόπον τινὰ τὴν ἀνάχυσιν τῶν ὀνομάτων τὴν δύναμιν, μόνιμον δὲ ὥσπερ ἐξαιτεῖν ἐφ' ἑαυτῇ τὴν ἕδραν, ἀπαραποίητον ἑκατέρῳ τὸ εἶναι τοιῶσδε προσ νέμει. Πατὴρ γὰρ ὁ Πατήρ, καὶ οὐχ Υἱός, ὅτι γεγέννηκεν· Υἱὸς δὲ αὖ πάλιν ὁ Υἱός, καὶ οὐ Πατήρ, ὅτι γεγέννηται. Φέρε γάρ, εἰ δοκεῖ, βραχὺ τοῦ Πατρός, ὡς ἐν ἐννοίαις καὶ λόγῳ, τὸ Πατὴρ ἀποστήσαντες, καὶ μὴν καὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ τὸ Υἱός, ἐννοῶμεν, ὦ τᾶν, τὸ ὅπως ἂν ἡμῖν ἀν