De Filio (Orat. 29)
Author namesGrégoire de Nazianze · Gregoire de Nazianze · Grégoire le Théologien · Gregory of Nazianzus · Gregorius Nazianzenus
- Scientific editors
- Arthur James Mason
- Edition reference
- The Five Theological Orations of Gregory of Nazianzus · Cambridge · Cambridge University Press · 1899
- CTS identifier
urn:cts:greekLit:tlg2022.tlg009.local001- Corpus release
- 2.2.0 · 2026-08-29
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Chapter 1
Ἃ μὲν οὖν εἴποι τις ἂν ἐπικόπτων τὴν περὶ τὸν λόγον αὐτῶν ἑτοιμότητα καὶ ταχύτητα, καὶ τὸ τοῦ τάχους ἐπισφαλὲς ἐν πᾶσι μὲν πράγμασι, μάλιστα δὲ ἐν τοῖς περὶ θεοῦ λόγοις, ταῦτά ἐστιν. ἐπεὶ δὲ τὸ μὲν ἐπιτιμᾷν οὐ μέγα· ῥᾷστον γὰρ καὶ τοῦ βουλομένου παντός· τὸ δὲ ἀντεισάγειν τὴν ἑαυτοῦ γνώμην ἀνδρὸς εὐσεβοῦς καὶ νοῦν ἔχοντος· φέρε, τῷ ἁγίῳ θαρρήσαντες πνεύματι, τῷ παρ’ αὐτῶν μὲν ἀτιμαζομένῳ, παρ’ ἡμῶν δὲ προσκυνουμένῳ, τὰς ἡμετέρας περὶ τῆς θεότητος ὑπολήψεις, αἵ τινές ποτέ εἰσιν, ὥσπερ τινὰ τόκον εὐγενῆ τε καὶ ὥριμον εἰς φῶς προενέγκωμεν· οὐδὲ ἄλλοτε μὲν σιωπήσαντες, τοῦτο γὰρ μόνον ἡμεῖς νεανικοί τε καὶ μεγαλόφρονες, νῦν δὲ καὶ μᾶλλον 1. Ι ἐπικόπτων] ἐπισκώπτων b ΙΙ ’τον λόγον] τῶν λόγων b II 3 ἐν τοῖς] om ἐν c ΙΙ 7 πνεύματι θαρρήσαντες cde || 8 ἤμων] ἥμιν b ΙΙ 10 προσενεγκωμεν f 1. We have stated our objections to the hasty theology of the Euuomians; but it is a harder task to set forth our own. I will endeavour to do so with the aid of the Holy Spirit, — as indeed I have done before, but it is more necessary now than ever, — as briefly ἃς I can. 1. ἐπικόπτων] ’by way of check- ’ Αὐτῶν, the Eunomians. 2. τὸ...ἐπισφαλές] ’the danger.’ 4. τὸ μὲν ἐπισφαλές] κτλ.] taken from Demosth. Olynth. i 7. 6. ἀντεισάγειν] not merely ‘to state in opposition,’ but to ‘instate,’ to ‘substitute.’ 8. προσκυνουμένῳ] This does not compel us to suppose that Gr. used or was acquainted with the last part of our present ‘ Nicene ’ Creed. See the quotations in Hort Two Diss, p. 88. 11. τοῦτο γὰρ μόνον] The verb omitted would prob. have to be expressed by perf. and pres. together; ’have been and are.’ Gr. refers to former outspoken sermons of his such as Orat. XX. For νέαν. cp. i 2. παρρησιαζόμενοι τὴν ἀλήθειαν· ἵνα μὴ τῇ ὑποστολῇ, καθὼς γέγραπται, τὸ μὴ εὐδοκεῖσθαι κατακριθῶμεν. διττοῦ δὲ ὄντος λόγου παντός, τοῦ μὲν τὸ οἰκεῖον κατασκευάζοντος, τοῦ δὲ τὸ ἀντίπαλον ἀνατρέποντος, καὶ ἡμεῖς τὸν οἰκεῖον ἐκθέμενοι πρότερον, οὕτω τὰ τῶν ἐναντίων ἀνατρέψαι πειρασόμεθα· καὶ ἀμφότερα ὡς οἷόν τε διὰ βραχέων, ἵν εὐσύνοπτα γένηται τὰ λεγόμενα, ὥσπερ ὃν αὐτοὶ λόγον εἰσαγωγικὸν ἐπενόησαν πρὸς ἐξαπάτην τῶν ἁπλουστέρων ἢ εὐηθεστέρων, καὶ μὴ τῷ μήκει τοῦ λόγου διαχεθῇ τὰ νοούμενα, καθάπερ ὕδωρ οὐ σωλῆνι σφιγγόμενον, ἀλλὰ κατὰ πεδίου χεόμενον καὶ λυόμενον.
Chapter 2
τρεῖς αἱ ἀνωτάτω δόξαι περὶ θεοῦ, ἀναρχία, καὶ πολυαρχία, καὶ μοναρχία. αἱ μὲν οὖν δύο παισὶν ‘Ελλήνων ἐπαίχθησαν, καὶ παιζέσθωσαν. τό τε γὰρ ἄναρχον ἄτακτον· τό τε πολύαρχον στασιῶδες, καὶ οὕτως ἄναρχον, καὶ οὕτως ἄτακτον. εἰς ταὐτὸν γὰρ ἀμφότερα φέρει, τὴν ἀταξίαν, ἡ δὲ εἰς λύσιν· ἀταξία γὰρ μελέτη λύσεως. 2 εὐδοκιμεῖσθαι b || 6 om ὡς f || 7 γενηται] γένωνται b ‘Reg. Cypr.’ || 9 διαχυθῇ bd ’Reg. Cypr.’ || IO νοούμενα] λεγόμενα ’Reg. Cypr.’ 1. τῆ ὑποστολῇ] Heb. x 38, 39 (Hab. ii 4). The word, as the context here shews, implies a disingenuous reticence; cp. Gal. ii 12, 13. 2. διττοῦ δὲ ὄντος] The Bene- dictine editors compare Athenagoras de Resurr. 1. 7. αὐτοί] the Eunomians. Gr. incidentally shews how systematically they went to work. 10. σωλῆνισφιγγ.] ’compressed in α pipe.’ 11. χεόμ. κ. λυόμ.] Cp. ii 13. 2. Atheism, Polytheism, Monotheism, are the three ancient opinions about God. The second ends in the same anarchy as the first, and we leave it to the Gentiles. Our Monotheism, however, is one where Three Persons are joined in equality of nature and in identity of will, — two of the three being derived from the first by what Scripture describes as generation and emission respectively. 12. αἱ ἀνωτάτω δόξαι] ’the most ancient opinions.’ 13. παισὶν Ἑλλήνων] a phrase formed on the fashion of υἱοὶ Ἰσραήλ; but the word παῖδες seems to be chosen with a view to the verb ἐπαίχθησαν. ‘With the first two the children of Greece amused themselves.’ 14. τό τε γάρ] The γάρ gives the reason why Gr. leaves those theories to the children of Greece (imperative). 17. ἀταξία γὰρ μ. λ.] ’Disorder is the prelude to ’For μελέτη (lit. ’practice,’ ’rehearsal’) cp. i 7. ἡμῖν δὲ μοναρχία τὸ τιμώμενον· μοναρχία δέ, οὐχ ἢν ἓν περιγράφει πρόσωπον· ἔστι γὰρ καὶ τὸ ἓν στασιάζον πρὸς ἑαυτὸ πολλὰ καθίστασθαι· ἀλλ’ ἢν φύσεως ὁμοτιμία συνίστησι, καὶ γνώμης σύμπνοια, καὶ ταὐτότης κινήσεως, καὶ πρὸς τὸ ἓν τῶν ἐξ αὐτοῦ σύννευσις, ὅπερ ἀμήχανον ἐπὶ τῆς γενητῆς φύσεως, ὥστε κἂν ἀριθμῷ διαφέρῃ, τῇ γε οὐσίᾳ μὴ τέμνεσθαι. διὰ τοῦτο μονὰς ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς, εἰς δυάδα κινηθεῖσα, μέχρι τριάδος ἔστη. καὶ τοῦτό ἐστιν ἡμῖν ὁ πατήρ, καὶ ὁ υἱός, καὶ τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα· ὁ μὲν γεννήτωρ καὶ προβολεύς, λέγω δὲ ἀπαθῶς, καὶ ἀχρόνως, καὶ ἀσω- μάτως· τῶν δέ, τὸ μὲν γέννημα, τὸ δὲ πρόβλημα, ἢ οὐκ οἱδ’ ὅπως ἄν τις ταῦτα καλέσειεν, ἀφελὼν πάντῃ τῶν 2. 6 γενητης] γεννήτης def || τῆ γε οὐσία] τῆ ἐξουσία ac (sed τῆ γε οὐσία in marg.) g: τῆ γε οὐσία e in rasura 1. μ. δέ, οὐχ ἢν ἐν] ‘Not a souereignty contained in a single person.’ 2. ἐστι γάρ] Such a sovereignty, of a single person, does not necessarily exclude the thought of discord and confusion. It is possible to conceive of a single entity being divided against itself, and so becoming many. The divine unity, which we believe, is the result of ‘equality of nature, unanimity of judgment, and identity of action’ ‘of will.’ 5. πρὸς τὸ ἐν κτλ.] This complete harmony of mind and will in the Godhead is itself based upon the concurrence of the other Blessed Persons with that One of Their number from whom They are derived, viz. the Father. Gr. does not as yet name the Father, nor indeed any of the Persons, because he is speaking in the abstract of the divine unity and its conditions, and so says τὸ ἐν and not rbv ἔνα. Α comparison of v 14 shews that τῶν ἐξ αὐτοῦ depends on σύννευσις, not on τὸ ἐν. The ‘antecedent’ of ἐξ αὐτοῦ (neut.) is τὸ ἐν. ib. ὅπερ] refers to the whole fourfold description. It is perhaps not impossible that such an unity should exist among creaturely beings, but our experience suggests no instance of it, — only imperfect images of it. The clause is of course parenthetical. 6. ὥστε] again refers to the whole description. It will be seen that οὐσία to Gr. means more than φύσις. There is a moral element in it, and not only a metaphysical; ὁμοτιμία φύσεως is one of the things which secure οὖσ’. μὴ τ. The reading τῆ ἐξουσίᾳ gives no satisfactory sense. 7. μονὰς ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς] The language comes perilously near the Sabellian conception of πλατυσμός (see Dorner Person of Christ div. I, vol. 2, p. 156); but of course Gr.'s tenses κινηθεῖσα, ἔστη) are not to be understood in a temporal sense. There was no time before the κίνησις of which he speaks. For μάρι see ii 9. 9. γενν. κ. προβ.] the γεννήτωρ, of course, of the Son; προβολεύς, of the Spirit. 12. ἀφελών κτλ.] Gr. knows no other way of expressing the relation of the Son and Spirit to the Father, such as might get rid of material suggestions. ὁρωμένων. οὐ γὰρ δὴ ὑπέρχυσιν ἀγαθότητος εἰπεῖν θαρρήσομεν, ὃ τῶν παρ’ Ἕλλησι φιλοσοφησάντων εἰπεῖν τις ἐτόλμησεν, οἷον κρατήρ τις ὑπερερρύῃ, σαφῶς οὑτωσὶ λέγων, ἐν οἷς περὶ πρώτου αἰτίου καὶ δευτέρου φιλοσοφεῖ· μή ποτε ἀκούσιον τὴν γέννησιν εἰσαγάγωμεν, καὶ οἷον περίττωμά τι φυσικὸν καὶ δυσκάθεκτον, ἥκιστα ταῖς περὶ θεότητος ὑπονοίαις πρέπον. διὰ τοῦτο ἐπὶ τῶν ἡμετέρων ὅρων ἱστάμενοι τὸ ἀγέννητον εἰσάγομεν, καὶ τὸ γεννητόν, καὶ τὸ ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς ἐκπορευόμενον, ὥς πού φησιν αὐτὸς ὁ θεὸς καὶ λόγος.
Chapter 3
Πότε οὖν ταῦτα; ὑπὲρ τὸ πότε ταῦτα. εἰ δὲ δεῖ τι καὶ νεανικῶς εἰπεῖν, ὅτε ὁ πατήρ. πότε δὲ ὁ πατήρ; οὐκ ἢν ὅτε οὐκ ἦν. τοῦτο οὖν καὶ ὁ υἱός, καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον. πάλιν ἐρώτα με, καὶ πάλιν ἀποκρινοῦμαί σοι. πότε ὁ υἱὸς γεγέννηται; ὅτε ὁ πατὴρ οὐ γεγέννηται. πότε δὲ τὸ πνεῦμα ἐκπεπόρευται; ὅτε ὁ υἱὸς οὐκ ἐκπεπόρευται, ἀλλὰ γεγέννηται ἀχρόνως καὶ ὑπὲρ λόγον· εἰ καὶ μὴ δυνάμεθα τὸ ὑπὲρ χρόνον παραστῆσαι, θέλοντες χρονικὴν ἐκφυγεῖν ἔμφασιν· τὸ γὰρ ὅτε, καὶ πρὸ τοῦδε, καὶ μετὰ 1 θαρρήσωμεν ab II 3 ὑπερερρύη] ὑπερρύη dfg || 4 πέρι] + τῆς f || IO om καὶ f 3. 13 πνεῦμα] + τὸ ἄγιον c ’Colb. I’ || 17 ει] + μὴ ’Coisl. 3’ 3. οἷον κρατήρ τις] The simile is used by Plato Tim. 41 D; but, as Jahn points out in his annotations Elias, in a different connexion. Gr. prob. refers to some Neoplatonic author. 7. ἐπὶ τῶν ἠμ’. ὄρων] keeping to consecrated by Christian usage; cp. i 5. 9. ὥς πού φησιν] John xv 26. 3. The acts thus described are above and before time, although it is impossible to divest ourselves of ternporal notions in attenmpting to illustrate them. The Second and Third Persons are not posterior to the First point of time, though Their being springs out of His. 11. ταῦτα] sc. τὸ γεννητόν and τὸ ἐκπορευόμενον. This is shewn by ὅτε ὁ πατήρ in the next line, ib. ὑπὲρ τὸ πότε] above and be yond a ’when.’ 13. οὐκ ἢν ὅτε οὐκ ἢν] He replies with the phrase so well known at the beginning of the Arian controlanguage versy. ib. τοῦτο] sc. what is implied in οὐκ ἢν ὁτε οὐκ ἢν, eternal. 19. ἔμφασιν] ’an image.’ In order to convey any notion of what is above time, it is impossible to avoid the employment of temporal imagery. Ἔμφασις is, however, used in rhetoric for an innuendo, a sugin gestion of something beyond what the words express; and this may be Gr.'s meaning here. ταῦτα, καὶ ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς, οὐκ ἄχρονα, κἂν ὅτι μάλιστα βιαζώμεθα· πλὴν εἰ τὸ παρεκτεινόμενον τοῖς ἀιδίοις διάστημα τὸν αἰῶνα λαμβάνοιμεν, τὸ μὴ κινήσει τινὶ μηδὲ ἡλίου φορᾷ μεριζόμενον καὶ μετρούμενον, ὅπερ ὁ χρόνος. πῶς οὖν οὐ συνάναρχα, εἰ συναίδια; ὅτι ἐκεῖθεν, εἰ καὶ μὴ μετ’ ἐκεῖνο. τὸ μὲν γὰρ ἄναρχον, καὶ ἀίδιον· τὸ ἀίδιον δέ, οὐ πάντως ἄναρχον, ἕως ἂν εἰς ἀρχὴν ἀναφέρηται τὸν πατέρα. οὐκ ἄναρχα οὖν τῷ αἰτίῳ· δῆλον δὲ τὸ αἴτιον ὡς οὐ πάντως πρεσβύτερον τῶν ὧν αἴτιον· οὐδὲ γὰρ τοῦ φωτὸς ἥλιος. καὶ ἄναρχά πὼς τῷ χρόνῳ, κἂν σὺ μορ- μολύττῃ τοὺς ἁπλουστέρους· οὐ γὰρ ὑπὸ χρόνον τὰ ἐξ ὧν ὁ χρόνος.
Chapter 4
Ἠὼς οὖν οὐκ ἐμπαθὴς ἡ γέννησις; ὅτι ἀσώματος. εἰ γὰρ ἡ ἐνσώματος ἐμπαθής, ἀπαθὴς ἡ ἀσώματος. ἐγὼ δέ σε ἀντερήσομαι· πῶς θεός, εἰ κτίσμα; οὐ γὰρ θεὸς τὸ κτιζό- μένον· ἵνα μὴ λέγω, ὅτι κἀνταῦθα πάθος, ἂν σωματικῶς 2 συμπαρεκτεινόμενον c ‘Reg. Cypr.’ || 3 λαμβάνομεν b II 6 ἐκεῖνον def τὸ ’δε ἀίδιον def || 9 ὢν] + ἐστιν bdf 2. πλὴν εἰ κτλ.) The only way, Gr. says, is to adopt the standard of Eternity. Eternity does indeed suggest a kind of temporal duration; that cannot be helped; but we use it to denote ’an interval or ’ commensurate with things of a supra-temporal order, not measured by any measurement known to time. It seems best to connect the πλὴν with εἰ καἰ μὴ δυνάμεθα, and to treat the intervening sentence (in accordance with Gr.s manner) as parenthetical. 5. ἐκεῖθεν] sc. ἐκ τοῦ πατρός. 9. τοῦ φωτὸς ἤλως] The simile is, of course, unscientific; but it serves its purpose. 10. ἄναρχά πὼς τῷ χρ.] In a sense, so far as time is concerned, that which is Begotten and that which Proceeds are without a beginning, as no date can be assigned, prior to which They had not begun. ib. μορμολύττῃ] ‘to scare’ with μορμώ, or bugbear. 4. If difficulty is felt about the ‘generation’ of the Son by the Father, the difficulty is not got rid rid by making the Son a ‘creature’ instead. It only arises from a carnal notion of what is meant by generation, as if there could be no higher hind of generation. 15. πῶς θεός] which the Eunomians acknowledged, though with an interpretation of their own. 16. κἀνταῦθα] i.e. ἐν τῷ κτίζειν. Α work of creation (lit. ‘founding’) as known to man involves time in which to work it out, desire for the accomplishment, the formation of a mental ideal, thought as to the mode of execution, etc. Gr.'s objeel is to shew that the thought of creation on ’s part involves as many difficulties as that of generation. λαμβάνηται, οἷον χρόνος, ἔφεσις, ἀνατύπωσις, φροντίς, ἐλπίς, λύπη, κίνδυνος, ἀποτυχία, διόρθωσις· ἃ πάντα καὶ πλείω τούτων περὶ τὴν κτίσιν, ὡς πᾶσιν εὔδηλον. θαυμάζω δέ, ὅτι μὴ καὶ τοῦτο τολμᾷς, συνδυασμούς τινας ἐννοεῖν, καὶ χρόνους κυήσεως, καὶ κινδύνους ἀμβλώσεως, ὡς οὐδὲ γεννᾷν ἐγχωροῦν, εἰ μὴ οὕτω γεγέννηκεν· ἢ πάλιν πτηνῶν τινὰς καὶ χερσαίων καὶ ἐνύδρων γεννήσεις ἀπαριθμούμενος, τούτων τινὶ τῶν γεννήσεων ὑπάγειν τὴν θείαν καὶ ἀνεκλά- λῆτον, ἢ καὶ τὸν υἱὸν ἀναιρεῖν ἐκ τῆς καινῆς ὑποθέσεως. καὶ οὐδ’ ἐκεῖνο δύνασαι συνιδεῖν, ὅτι ᾧ διάφορος ἡ κατὰ σάρκα γέννησις, — ποῦ γὰρ ἐν τοῖς σοῖς ἔγνως θεοτόκον παρθένον; — τούτῳ καὶ ἡ πνευματικὴ γέννησις ἐξαλλάττουσα· μᾶλλον δέ, ᾧ τὸ εἶναι μὴ ταὐτόν, τούτῳ καὶ τὸ γεννᾷν διάφορον.
Chapter 5
τίς οὖν ἐστὶ πατὴρ οὐκ ἠργμένος; ὅς τις οὐδὲ τοῦ εἶναι ἤρξατο· ᾧ δὲ τὸ εἶναι ἤρξατο, τούτῳ καὶ τὸ εἶναι πατρί. οὔκουν πατὴρ ὕστερον, οὐ γὰρ ἤρξατο· καὶ πατὴρ κυρίως, ὅτι μὴ καὶ υἱός· ὥσπερ καὶ υἱὸς κυρίως, ὅτι μὴ καὶ πατήρ. τὰ γὰρ ἡμέτερα οὐ κυρίως, ὅτι καὶ ἄμφω· οὐ γὰρ 4. 1 ἔφεσις χρόνος ac li 4 ἐννοεῖν] ἐπινοεῖν b ‘Reg. ’ 5 κυησεως] κινήσεως d ΙΙ 8 τούτων] + δὴ ’Or. I’ || 9 ἐναίρειν ‘Reg. Cypr.’ || καινῆς] κενῆς be ’Reg. Cypr.’: + σου beg 15 του] rob: του f in rasura || 17 πατρὶ] πατὴρ b ’Reg. a1’ 4. συνδυασμούς] ‘copulation.’ 5. ἀμβλώσεως] ‘miscarriage.’ 6. οὕτω] by such ways as συνδυασμός and so on. 9. ἢ καί] ‘or else, ’ if the generation of the Son does not fit in with your select example, ‘get rid of Him altogether as a result of your novel scheme.’ 12. ἢ πνεῦμ’. γέννησις] i.e. His generation ace. to His divine nature. Ἐξαλλάττειν is freq. used intrans. 5. The Father never ωας anything else but Father. While we human beings are sons, as well as fathers, He is absolutely Father, and that alone. If we say that He ’has begotten’ a Son, we do mean to imply a moment or date. Scripture often uses tenses in a way which differs from that of ordinary life. 15. τίς οὖν] It is the ’s question: ‘What father is there who never began to be a father ?’ 17. οὔκουν π. ὕστ.] ‘He did become Father at some subsequent point, because (ace. to the foregoing argument) He never began to be.’ 18. κυρίως] ‘properly, because He is not at the same time Son.’ on the other hand, Gr. goes on to say, are not ‘properly ’ fathers, because we are ἄμφω, sons as much as fathers. The variety of our relationships makes it impossible to consider any one of them an exhaustive description of a human being; but fatherhood expresses all that the person of God the Father is. τόδε μᾶλλον ἢ τόδε· καὶ ἐξ ἀμφοῖν ἡμεῖς, οὐχ ἑνός, ὥστε μερίζεσθαι, καὶ κατ’ ὀλίγον ἄνθρωποι, καὶ ἴσως οὐδὲ ἄνθρωποι, καὶ οἷοι μὴ τεθελήμεθα, καὶ ἀφιέντες καὶ ἀφιέμενοι, ὡς μόνας τὰς σχέσεις λείπεσθαι ὀρφανὰς τῶν πραγμάτων. ἀλλὰ τὸ ἐγέννησε, φησίν, αὐτό, καὶ τὸ γεγέννηται, τί ἄλλο, ἢ ἀρχὴν εἰσάγει γεννήσεως; τί οὖν ἂν μηδὲ τοῦτο λέγωμεν, ἀλλ’ ἦν ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς γεγεννημένος, ἵνα σου ῥᾳδίως φύγωμεν τὰς περιέργους ἐνστάσεις καὶ Φιλοχρόνους; ἆρα γραφὴν ἀποίσεις καθ’ ἡμῶν, ὡς παραχαραττόντων τι τῆς γραφῆς καὶ τῆς ἀληθείας; ἢ πᾶσιν εὔδηλον, ὅτι πολλὰ τῶν χρονικῶς λεγομένων ἐνηλλαγμένως τοῖς χρόνοις προΦέρεται, καὶ μάλιστα παρὰ τῇ συνηθείᾳ τῆς γραφῆς, οὐχ ὅσα τοῦ παρεληλυθότος χρόνου μόνον ἐστίν, ἢ τοῦ παρόντος, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὅσα τοῦ μέλλοντος; ὡς τό· Ἵνα τί 5 ἐγέννησεν αὐτὸ φησιν f || 12 τῆς] + θείας b 1. ἐξ ἀμφοῖν] not the same ἄμφω as above, but here as if = ἐκ δυοῖν. Gr. is thinking chiefly how our sonship differs from that of the Eternal Son, and leaves the difference of the fatherhood. Each of us has two parents, not one, so that we are in a way divided between them. 2. κατ’ δλ. ἄνθρ.] another difference; we only gradually attain the position of human beings by a long fashioning in the womb, and some hardly attain it at all. In the last clause no doubt Gr. means idiots and persons otherwise deficient. The wishes of human parents for their offspring are often far from being realised οἶοι μὴ τεθ.). 3. ἀφιέντες] The children in many cases go their way, and the parents theirs, and nothing is left of the sacred relationship except the name. 5. ἐγέννησε] We have been using expressions like ‘begat’ and ‘is begotten,’ which necessarily besides the notion of begetting, the tense-notion of a moment when. To evade the difficulty, Gr. proposes to use a formula which puts the ‘moment’ back before the beginning of time, and to say that the Son ‘was’ already ‘begotten from the beginning.’ 9. γραφὴν ἀποίσεις καθ’ ἤμ’.] a legal term, which has only an accidental relation to the use of γραφὴ immediately after in the sense of ’Scripture.’ It means ‘to file an accusation? ib. παραχαραττόντων] ‘putting a false mark ’ i.e. ‘falsifying’; chiefly used of coin that has been tampered with. 11. ἐνηλλαγμ. τ. χρδν.] Much of our language which denotes time is used in an inverse manner to the time intended. 14. ἴνα τί ἐφρ.] Psalm ii 1. ἐφρύαξαν ἔθνη; οὔπω γὰρ ἐφρυάξαντο· καί, Ἐν ποταμῷ διελεύσονται ποδί· ὅπερ ἐστί, διαβεβήκασι. καὶ μακρὸν ἂν εἴη πάσας ἀπαριθμεῖν τὰς τοιαύτας φωνάς, αἳ τοῖς φιλοπόνοις τετήρηνται.
Chapter 6
τοῦτο μὲν δὴ τοιοῦτον. οἷον δὲ αὐτῶν κἀκεῖνο, ὡς λίαν δύσερι καὶ ἀναίσχυντον* βουληθείς, φασι, γεγέννηκε τὸν υἱόν, ἢ μὴ βουλόμενος. εἶτα δεσμοῦσιν, ὡς οἴονται, ἀμφοτέρωθεν ἅμμασιν, οὐκ ἰσχυροῖς, ἁλλὰ καὶ λίαν σαθροῖς. εἰ μὲν γὰρ οὐ θέλων, φασί, τετυράννηται. καὶ τίς το ὁ τυραννήσας; καὶ πῶς ὁ τυραννηθεὶς θεός; εἰ δὲ θέλων, θελήσεως υἱὸς ὁ υἱός· πῶς οὖν ἐκ τοῦ πατρός; καὶ καινήν τινα μητέρα τὴν θέλησιν ἀντὶ τοῦ πατρὸς ἀναπλάττουσιν. ἓν μὲν οὖν τοῦτο χαρίεν αὐτῶν, ἂν τοῦτο λέγωσιν, ὅτι τοῦ πάθους ἀποστάντες ἐπὶ τὴν βούλησιν καταφεύγουσιν· οὐ γὰρ πάθος ἡ βούλησις. δεύτερον δὲ ἴδωμεν τὸ ἰσχυρὸν 3 εἴη] ην f 6 φασι] φησι df || 7 οιονται] οιον τε ’duo Colb.’ || 11 καινὴν] κενὴν ’Reg. Cypr.’ 1. ἐν ποταμῶ Psalm lxv (lxvi) 6. 4. τετήρηνται] ‘have been observed.’ 6. ’Did the Father beget the Son,’ asks the opponent, ‘by an act of will, or not? If not, He was tinder constraint, which is impossible; if so, then the Son owes His being not to the Father only, but also to the Father's will, zvhich thus becomes α kind of motherhood.’ This dilemma is met by a similar one with regard to the ’s οὗκ birth, and by another with regard to creation. Gr. then shews that ἃς a word is not the result of speaking, considered as α separate ajtd sub- stantive thing, but springs direct from the speaker, so the thing willed springs not from will in the abstract, but direct from him who wills. 8. σαθροῖς] Cp. i 3. 11. πῶς οὖν ἐκ τοῦ π.] It certainly seems a strangely captious argument. If it was ever seriously urged by the Eunomians, we must suppose that θέλων is not merely = ἑκών, but ’by willing’; i.e. it was the act of will which produced the Son. Then, as other faculties of the divine being are represented to us as hypostatic — notably the Λόγος — we are driven to suppose that this primary faculty, antecedent and necessary to the production of the Son, is hypostatic also. If that is the case, He does not owe His being solely to the Father, but partly also to the ’s Will, which is thus constituted a kind of mother in the Godhead. But Gr.'s subsequent words ἂν τοῦτο λέγωσιν suggest the doubt whether he did not himself invent this part of the argument for the Eunomians. 13. αὐτῶν] depends upon χαρίεν (av εἴη) by an idiom well known in colloquial English as well as in Greek; ‘it it will be delightful of them.’ 14. οὐ γὰρ πάθος ἢ β.] This is true; nevertheless it is difficult for the human mind to imagine an act of will which is not caused by something which would come under the description of a πάθος. αὐτῶν, ὅ τι λέγουσιν. ἄριστον δὲ αὐτοῖς συμπλακῆναι πρότερον ἐγγυτέρω. σὺ δὲ αὐτὸς ὁ λέγων εὐχερῶς ὅ τι ἃν ἐθέλῃς, ἐκ θέλοντος ὑπέστης τοῦ σοῦ πατρός, ἢ μὴ θέλοντος; εἰ μὲν γὰρ ἐξ οὐ θέλοντος, τετυράννηται. τῆς βίας· καὶ τίς ὁ τυραννήσας αὐτόν; οὐ γὰρ δὴ τὴν φύσιν ἐρεῖς· ἐκείνη γὰρ ἔχει καὶ τὸ σωφρονεῖν. εἰ δὲ θέλοντος, ἀπόλωλέ σοι δι’ ὀλίγας συλλαβὰς ὁ πατήρ. θελήματος γὰρ υἱός, ἁλλ’ οὐ πατρὸς ἀναπέφηνας. ἀλλ’ ἐπὶ τὸν θεὸν μέτειμι καὶ τὰ κτίσματα, καὶ τὸ σὸν ἐρώτημα προσάγω τῇ σῇ σοφίᾳ. θέλων ὑπέστησε τὰ πάντα, ἢ βιασθείς; εἰ μὲν βιασθείς, κἀνταῦθα ἡ τυραννίς, καὶ ὁ τυραννήσας. εἰ δὲ βουλόμενος, ἐστέρηται τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τὰ κτίσματα, καὶ σὺ πρὸ τῶν ἄλλων, ὁ τοιούτους ἀνευρίσκων λογισμοὺς καὶ τοιαῦτα σοφιζόμενος. θελήσει γὰρ μέσῃ τοῦ κτίστου διατειχίζεται. ἁλλ’ ἕτερον, οἶμαι, θέλων ἐστὶ καὶ θέλησις, 2 αν] ἔαν b || 3 εθελης] θέλῃς def ΙΙ 7 θεληματος] θελήσεως def || 10 υπεστησε] + θεὸς bcd: + ο θεὸς ef || 14 θελησει] θέλησις b || om γὰρ b || 15 ἐστιν οἴμαι θέλων bdf 1. τὸ ἴσχ’. αὐτ’. ö τι λ] ‘what they consider their strong point? Δεύτερον δὲ corresponds to ἐν μέν. Before, however, entering upon this δεύτερον, which he does at ἀλλ’ ἐπὶ τ. θ., Gr. thinks it best πρότερον) to grapple with his adversaries at closer quarters. This he does in the question σὺ δὲ αὐτός κτλ., which brings the argument home to them personally ἐγγυτέρω). 5. οὐ γὰρ δὴ τὴν φύσιν ἐρεῖς] ‘You will not say that he was compelled by nature. Nature admits equally of self-restraint.’ 10. ὑπέστησε] ‘gave them existence,’ ence? i.e. by creation. 12. ἐσηρηται τοῦ θ.κ. τὰ κτ] As, ace. to their supposed argument, the Son is deprived of the Father by the interposition of the Will from which He sprang, so is creation deprived of its Creator. His Will runs like a wall between it and Him. The Eunomian is the first to suffer the loss, because he invented it; that is poetical justice. 15. ἕτερον οἷμαι] Gr.'s argument is not very clear; because the Eunomians also had distinguished very sharply between the will and the person who wills, — so sharply that they said that the Son could not be the Son of one who willed to beget Him, but only of that will itself. But in so arguing they set up a new, though fictitious, identity. They converted the will itself into a personal agency. This is what Gr. combats. Will is one thing, and the person who wills is another. You might as well say that the thing begotten is the son of beget- ting, or trace the thing spoken to speaking instead of the speaker, as thus erect will into a substantive and independent force. γεννῶν καὶ γέννησις, λέγων καὶ λόγος, εἰ μὴ μεθύομεν. τὰ μὲν ὁ κινούμενος, τὰ δὲ οἷον ἡ κίνησις. οὔκουν θελήσεως τὸ θεληθέν· οὐδὲ γὰρ ἕπεται πάντως· οὐδὲ τὸ γεννηθὲν γεννήσεως, οὐδὲ τὸ ἀκουσθὲν ἐκφωνήσεως, ἀλλὰ τοῦ θέλοντος, καὶ τοῦ γεννήσαντος, καὶ τοῦ λέγοντος. τὰ τοῦ θεοῦ δὲ καὶ ὑπὲρ πάντα ταῦτα, ᾧ γέννησίς ἐστιν ἴσως ἡ τοῦ γεννᾷν θέλησις, ἀλλ’ οὐδὲν μέσον, εἴ γε καὶ τοῦτο δεξώμεθα ὅλως, ἀλλὰ μὴ καὶ θελήσεως κρείττων ἢ γέννησις.
Chapter 7
Βούλει τι προσπαίξω καὶ τὸν πατέρα; παρὰ σοῦ γὰρ ἔχω τὰ τοιαῦτα τολμᾷν. θέλων θεὸς ὁ πατήρ, ἢ μὴ θέλων. καὶ ὅπως ἀποφεύξῃ τὸ σὸν περιδέξιον, εἰ μὲν δὴ θέλων, πότε τοῦ θέλειν ἠργμένος; οὐ γὰρ πρὶν εἶναι· οὐδὲ γὰρ ἦν τι πρότερον. ἢ τὸ μὲν αὐτοῦ θελῆσαν, τὸ δὲ 1 μεθύωμεν b ΙΙ 5 γεννῶντος cdefg || 7 δεξ̣ͅομεθα deg ‘Or. 1’ 1. τὰ μέν] i.e. the series θέλων, γεννῶν, λέγων; τὰ δέ, i.e. the series θέλησις, γέννησις, λόγος. 3. οὐδὲ γὰρ ἕπεται πάντως] Gr. is using ἕπεται in its logical sense. He does not mean that in the order of facts the act of will sometimes fails of its effect; he means that it does not ‘follow’ that, because a thing has been willed, that thing is the result of will. It is the result of the personal force lying behind the will. 5. τὰ τοῦ θεοῦ δέ] All this holds true even in the experience of our limited personalities; much more may we suppose it to be so in regard to the divine nature. With God, so far as we know ἴσως), will and action are identical, and there is no medium whatever. 7. καὶ τοῦτο] i.e. the proposition that γέννησις = ἡ τοῦ γ. θ. Gr. evidently inclines rather to the view that ‘the generation ὁ the Son of God is even above and beyond will.’ 7. Gr. retaliates by asking how God comes to be God. If by His will, when did He first will it? is one portion of His being the result of the will of another portion? is He not in this case as much a child of will as the Son? If He is God without willing to be so, then He is under compulsion. ‘How then, is the Son begotten?’ asks the Eunomian. ‘How is He created?’ οἱ. replies. Men do create in the way which it is to assume was ’s way. 9. βούλει τι κτλ.] ’Do you wish me to make sport awhile with the Father also? ’ Hitherto the ‘sport’ has been with the Son. Gr. intentionally uses a shocking expression. 11. καὶ ὅπως ἀποφ.] ’and in order that you may escape: The main verb is the imperative implied in the question πότε. . . ἠργμένος μόνος — ‘tell me when.’ 12. πρὶν εἶναι] sc θεός; ‘not befpre He was so; for He tvas never anything before.’ 13. τὸ μὲν αὐτοῦ] ‘or did one part of Him will it, while the other part was the result of that will? θεληθέν; μεριστὸς οὖν. πῶς δὲ οὐ θελήσεως καὶ οὗτος, κατὰ σέ, πρόβλημα; εἰ δὲ οὐ θέλων, τί τὸ βιασάμενον εἰς τὸ εἶναι; καὶ πῶς θεός, εἰ βεβίασται, καὶ ταῦτα οὐκ ἄλλο τι ἢ αὐτὸ τὸ εἶναι θεός; πῶς οὖν γεγέννηται; πῶς ἔκτισται, εἴπερ ἔκτισται κατὰ σέ; καὶ γὰρ καὶ τοῦτο τῆς αὐτῆς ἀπορίας. τάχα ἂν εἴποις, βουλήσει καὶ λόγῳ. ἀλλ’ οὔπω λέγεις τὸ πᾶν. πῶς γὰρ ἔργου δύναμιν ἔσχεν ἡ βούλησις καὶ ὁ λόγος; ἔτι λείπεται λέγειν. οὐ γὰρ οὕτως ἄνθρωπος.
Chapter 8
Πῶς οὖν γεγέννηται; οὐκ ἂν ἢν μεγάλη ἡ γέννησις, εἰ σοὶ κατελαμβάνετο, ὃς οὐδὲ τὴν ἰδίαν ἐπίστῃ γέννησιν, ἢ μικρόν τι ταύτης κατείληφας, καὶ ὅσον αἰσχύνῃ λέγειν· ἔπειτα οἴει τὸ πᾶν γινώσκειν; πολλὰ ἂν κάμοις πρότερον, ἢ εὕροις λόγους συμπήξεως, μορφώσεως, φανερώσεως, ψυχῆς πρὸς σῶμα δεσμόν, νοῦ πρὸς ψυχήν, λόγου πρὸς νοῦν, κίνησιν, αὔξησιν, τροφῆς ἐξομοίωσιν, αἴσθησιν, μνήμην, ἀνάμνησιν, τἄλλα ἐξ ὧν συνέστηκας· καὶ τίνα μὲν τοῦ συναμφοτέρου ψυχῆς καὶ σώματος, τίνα δὲ τὰ μεμερισμένα, τίνα δὲ ἃ παρ’ ἀλλήλων λαμβάνουσιν· 7. 1 ουν] + φησι bedf ΙΙ 6 ειποις] + ὅτι b 8. 13 οιει] οιη e || τα ce race 2. εἰς τὸ εἶναι] again ’ to be so,’ i.e. θεός. 3. καἰ ταῦτα κτλ.] ‘and compelled to that very thing, namely to be God.’ 4. πῶς οὖν] Gr. returns rapidly to the original question, and again parries it by the counter question as to the creation of the Son. The difficulty of imagining the creation is as great as that of imagining the generation. 7. ἔργου δύν. ἔσχειν] ‘how came it to have that effective force?" 9. οὕτως] sc βούλεται καἰ λόγει. 8. You do not understand your own generation, or the law of your own development; how can you expeel to understand that of God? That, however, ἲς no proof that God does not beget. If nothing is to be true but what you understand, must reduce the list of existences, beginning with that of God Himself The mode of the divine generation is evidently beyond us. 14. λόγους συμπ.] ‘the formulae,’ or ‘laws.’ 16. τροφῆς ἐξομ.] ‘assimilation of food.’ 17. μνήμην, ἀνάμν.] Cp. ii 22. ib. τίνα μέν] ‘what things belong to the united compound of soul and body.’ 19. τὰ μεμερ.] We might have expected μεμερισμένων, ‘belong to soul and body apart’; but it ‘which are the things distributable’ to soul and body respectively. ὧν γὰρ ὕστερον ἡ τελείωσις, τούτων οἱ λόγοι μετὰ τῆς γεννήσεως. εἰπὲ τίνες· καὶ μηδὲ τότε φιλοσοφήσῃς θεοῦ γέννησιν· οὐ γὰρ ἀσφαλές. εἰ μὲν γὰρ τὴν σὴν γινώσκεις, οὐ πάντως καὶ τὴν τοῦ θεοῦ· εἰ δὲ μηδὲ τὴν σήν, πῶς τὴν τοῦ θεοῦ; ὅσῳ γὰρ θεὸς ἀνθρώπου δυστεκμαρτότερος, τοσούτῳ καὶ τῆς σῆς γεννήσεως ἀληπτοτέρα ἡ ἄνω γέν- νησις. εἰ δὲ ὅτι μή σοι κατείληπται, διὰ τοῦτο οὐδὲ γεγέννηται, ὥρα σοι πολλὰ διαγράφειν τῶν ὄντων, ἃ μὴ κατείληφας, καὶ πρό γε ἁπάντων τὸν θεὸν αὐτόν· οὐδὲ γὰρ ὅ τι ποτέ ἐστιν εἰπεῖν ἔχεις, καὶ εἰ λίαν τολμηρὸς εἰ, καὶ τὰ περιττὰ μεγαλόψυχος. κατάβαλέ σου τὰς ῥεύσεις, καὶ τὰς διαιρέσεις, καὶ τὰς τομάς, καὶ τὸ ὡς περὶ σώματος διανοεῖσθαι τῆς ἀσωμάτου φύσεως· καὶ τάχα ἃν ἄξιόν τι διανοηθείης θεοῦ γεννήσεως. πῶς γεγέννηται; πάλιν γὰρ τὸ αὐτὸ φθέγξομαι δυσχεραίνων. θεοῦ γέννησις σιωπῇ τιμάσθω. μέγα σοι τὸ μαθεῖν, ὅτι γεγέννηται. τὸ δὲ πῶς, οὐδὲ ἀγγέλοις ἐννοεῖν, μὴ ὅτι γέ σοι νοεῖν συγχωρήσομεν. βούλει παραστήσω τὸ πῶς; ὡς οἶδεν ὁ γεννήσας πατήρ, καὶ ὁ γεννηθεὶς υἱός. τὸ δὲ ὑπὲρ ταῦτα νέφει κρύπτεται, τὴν σὴν διαφεῦγον ἀμβλυωπίαν.
Chapter 9
ὄντα οὖν γεγέννηκεν, ἢ οὐκ ὄντα; τῶν ληρημάτων· περὶ ἐμὲ καὶ σὲ ταῦτα, οἳ τὸ μέν τι ἦμεν, ὥσπερ ἐν τῇ ὀσφύι τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ ὁ Λευὶ, τὸ δὲ γεγόναμεν’ ὥστε ἐξ ὄντων τρόπον τινὰ τὸ ἡμέτερον, καὶ οὐκ ὄντων· ἐναντίως περὶ τὴν ἀρχέγονον ὕλην ὑποστᾶσαν σαφῶς ἐξ οὐκ ὄντων, κἄν τινες ἀγένητον ἀναπλάττωσιν. ἐνταῦθα δὲ σύνδρομον τῷ εἶναι τὸ γεγεννῆσθαι, καὶ ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς· ὥστε ποῦ θήσεις τὸ ἀμφίκρημνον τοῦτο ἐρώτημα; τί γὰρ τοῦ ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς πρεσβύτερον, ἵν ἐκεῖ θῶμεν τὸ εἶναί ποτε τοῦ υἱοῦ, ἢ τὸ μὴ εἶναι; ἀμφοτέρως γὰρ τὸ ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς λυθήσεται. εἰ μή σοι καὶ ὁ πατήρ, πάλιν ἐρωτώντων ἡμῶν, ἐξ ὄντων, ἢ ἐξ 9. 1 τῶν] ω τῶν e || 6 ἀγένητον] ἀγέννητον def ΙΙ ἀναπλάττουσιν e || 7 τὼ εἶναι τὸ] τὸ εἶναι τὼ ‘Reg.’ a’ 9 η τὸ μὴ] om τὸ cd 1. ὄντα] Α fresh difficulty: was the Son already in existence when He was begotten, or not? Gr. admits that the question might have some meaning in regard to human generation. In one sense we already existed τὸ μέν τι); in another, we then began to be (λγλόναμεν practically=ἐγενήθημεν). 3. ὁ Λευί] Heb. vii 10. 4. τὸ ἡμέτερον] = ἡμεῖς. 6. κἄν τινες ἂγ. ἀναπλ.] The reference is to ’s Timaeus. ib. σύνδρομον τῷ εἰ. τὸ γ.] ’In this ’ of the Eternal Son, ‘generation is coincident with existence, and is from all eternity.’ 7. ποῦ θήσεις] Where will you find a place, a date, for your question to apply to? ‘Already in existence when He was begotten ’ implies a time before the begetting; but there was no such time. He was begotten from the beginning. What was there before ’the begin- ning, ’ that we may say whether the Son then existed or not? In either case, whether we affirm or deny His existence, it is clear that that subsequent moment at which we suppose Him to have been begotten cannot really have been the beginning. 10. εἰ μή σοι κ. ὁ π.] If you still press your question, we will once more ask you about the Father, whether His existence is derived from elements that were beforehand or from elements that were not. Perhaps then you will make out that both propositions are true, and that He has two modes or stages of existence, one before and the other after the absorption of those elements. Or you will choose the latter alternative, and say of Him, as you say of the Son, that He comes into being from nothingness. If you are ready to admit this of the Father (such is the force of the εἰ μή), there is some consistency in what you affirm of the Son. οὐκ ὄντων, κινδυνεύσειεν ἢ δὶς εἶναι, ὃ μὲν προών, ὃ δὲ ὤν, ἢ ταὐτὸν τῷ υἱῷ παθεῖν, ἐξ οὐκ ὄντων εἶναι, διὰ τὰ σὰ τῶν ἐρωτημάτων παίγνια, καὶ τὰς ἐκ ψάμμων οἰκοδομάς, αἱ μηδὲ αὔραις ἵστανται. ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν οὐδέτερον τούτων δέχομαι, καὶ τὴν ἐρώτησίν φημι τὸ ἄτοπον ἔχειν, οὐχὶ τὸ ἄπορον τὴν ἀπάντησιν. εἰ δέ σοι φαίνεται ἀναγκαῖον εἶναι τὸ ἕτερον ἀληθεύειν ἐπὶ παντός, κατὰ τὰς σὰς δια- λεκτικὰς ὑπολήψεις, δέξαι μού τι μικρὸν ἐρώτημα. ὁ χρόνος ἐν χρόνῳ, ἢ οὐκ ἐν χρόνῳ; εἰ μὲν οὖν ἐν χρόνῳ, IO τίνι τούτῳ; καὶ τί παρὰ τοῦτον ὄντι; καὶ πῶς περιέχοντι; εἰ δὲ οὐκ ἐν χρόνῳ, τίς ἢ περιττὴ σοφία χρόνον εἰσάγειν ἄχρονον; τοῦ δέ, Νῦν ἐγὼ ψεύδομαι, δὸς τὸ ἕτερον, ἢ ἀληθεύεσθαι μόνον, ἢ ψεύδεσθαι· οὐ γὰρ ἀμφότερα δώ- σομεν. ἀλλ’ οὐκ ἐνδέχεται. ἢ γὰρ ψευδόμενος ἀληθεύσει, ἢ ἀληθεύων ψεύσεται· πᾶσα ἀνάγκη. τί οὖν θαυμαστόν, ὥσπερ ἐνταῦθα συμβαίνει τὰ ἐναντία, οὕτως ἐκεῖσε ἀμφότερα ψεύδεσθαι, καὶ οὕτω σοι τὸ σοφὸν ἠλίθιον ἀναφανήσεται; ἓν ἔτι μοι λῦσον τῶν αἰνιγμάτων· σεαυτῷ δὲ γεννωμένῳ παρῆς; πάρει δὲ νῦν; ἢ οὐδέτερον; εἰ μὲν γὰρ καὶ παρῆς, καὶ πάρει, ὡς τίς, καὶ τίνι; καὶ πῶς ὁ εἷς ἄμφω γεγόνατε; εἰ δὲ μηδέτερον τῶν εἰρημένων, πῶς 3 ἐκ ψάμμων] εξ ἄμμων a || οἰκοδομίας ac || 12 om η ’duo Reg.’ 1. ö μὲν πρ., δ δὲ ὤν] For this use of δ (here accus.) cp. Matt. xiii 8. 4. μ. αὔραις ἵστανται] ‘cannot even stand a puff of wind’; a natural use of ἴστ’. but difficult to parallel. ib. τούτων] of the two alternatives, ὄντα ἢ οὐκ ὄντα γεγέννηκεν. 5. τὸ ἄπορον τὴν ἀπ’.] Α chiasm: ἀπάντ. corresponds to ἐρώτ., as τὸ ἄπορον to τὸ ἄτοπον. It is not that the encounter presents a difficulty, but the question presents an ab- surdity. 10. τί παρὰ τοῦτον ὄντι] ’what is it besides the time which is in it? and how does it contain that ?’ 12. τοῦ δέ, Νῦν ἐγὼ ψ.] Α well-known puzzle. ’"I am now telling a lie." One thing or the other; is the statement true or false? We will not admit that it is both. you answer, it is impossible to adopt the one alternative to the exclusion of the other, for if he is lying, he speaks the truth, and if he speaks the truth, he lying.’ 15. τί οὖν θαυμαστόν] As, in the case of the ψευδόμενος, contradictories are reconciled, so we need not be surprised if, in the proposed dilemma of ὄντα ἢ οὐκ ὄντα, both alternatives are false. 17. ἠλίθιον] ‘silly.’ σεαυτοῦ χωρίζῃ; καὶ τίς ἡ αἰτία τῆς διαζεύξεως; ἀλλ’ ἀπαίδευτον περὶ τοῦ ἑνός, εἰ ἑαυτῷ πάρεστιν, ἢ μή, πολυπραγμονεῖν. ταῦτα γὰρ ἐπ’ ἄλλων, οὐχ ἑαυτοῦ λέγεται. ἀπαιδευτότερον, εὖ ἴσθι, τὸ ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς γεγεννημένον, εἰ ἢν πρὸ τῆς γεννήσεως, ἢ οὐκ ἦν, διευθύνεσθαι. οὗτος γὰρ περὶ τῶν χρόνῳ διαιρετῶν ὁ λόγος.
Chapter 10
Ἀλλ’ οὐ ταὐτόν, φησι, τὸ ἀγέννητον καὶ τὸ γεννητόν. εἰ δὲ τοῦτο, οὐδὲ ὁ υἱὸς τῷ πατρὶ ταὐτόν. ὅτι μὲν φανερῶς ὁ λόγος οὗτος ἐκβάλλει τὸν υἱὸν τῆς θεότητος, ἢ τὸν πατέρα, τί χρὴ λέγειν; εἰ γὰρ τὸ ἀγέννητον οὐσία ΙΟ θεοῦ, τὸ γεννητὸν οὐκ οὐσία· εἰ δὲ τοῦτο,…
Chapter 11
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