Thesaurus on the Holy Trinity · §logos-1-rem-mid

Logos I rem mid: begotten Son not thereby a creature

Mid rem: begotten does not equal made. Arguments from image and from “I and the Father are one” keep the Son’s generation inside the Father’s nature, not among generated creatures.

Greek

ριεύειν ἐκεῖνον· κρατεῖ γὰρ πάντων καὶ κυριεύει μετὰ Πατρὸς, παντοκράτωρ καὶ αὐτὸς ὑπάρχων καὶ Κύριος. Ὥσπερ οὖν ἐν τούτοις οὐχ ὡς ἓν τῶν πάντων ἐστὶν ὁ Υἱὸς, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ τὴν τῶν γενητῶν φύσιν ἡ τῶν λέξεων δύναμις φέρεται, οὕτω καὶ ἐπὶ ἀγενήτου, οὐ πρὸς τὸν Υἱὸν, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὴν κτίσιν ἡ σύγκρισις, κἂν ἓν εἶναι λέγηται τὸ ἀγένητον· διὰ τὸ πάντα γεγονέναι παρὲξ Θεοῦ. Ὅτι κρεῖττόν ἐστι καὶ ἀξιολογώτερον Πατέρα καλεῖσθαι τὸν Θεὸν, ἢ ἀγένητον. Τὸ πατὴρ ὄνομα, τὴν περὶ υἱοῦ πάντως ἔννοιαν ἐν ἑαυτῷ συνεισφέρει· τὰ γὰρ τοιαῦτα δι' ἀλλήλων σημαίνεται. Τὸ δὲ ἀγένητος ὄνομα, τῷ μὴ γεγενῆσθαι Θεὸν, τὴν τῶν γενητῶν ἀντιπαρατίθησι μνήμην. Ἀναγκαία δὲ τοῖς πιστεύειν ἐθέλουσιν ὀρθῶς, τῆς ἁγίας Τριάδος ἡ γνῶσις. Εἰ τοίνυν ὁ μὲν Πατέρα λέγων ὁρᾷ τὸν Υἱὸν δι' ὅν ἐστι Πατήρ· ὁ δὲ ἀγένητον ὀνομάζων αὐτὸν, ὁρᾷ τὰ γενόμενα, οἷς εὐλόγως ὁ μὴ γεγονὼς ἀντιδιαστέλλεται· πολὺ δὴ κρεῖττον, ἀφ' ὧν ἡ περὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ τίκτεται γνῶσις, σημαίνεσθαι τὸν Θεὸν, ἢ ἐξ ὧν ἡ τῶν ποιημάτων ἀναφαίνεται μνήμη, συντελοῦσα πρὸς τὴν γνῶσιν τῆς ἁγίας Τριάδος οὐδέν. Καὶ ὁ μὲν Πατέρα λέγων, ἀφ' ὧν ἔστι σημαίνει Θεόν· ὁ δὲ ἀγένητον εἰπὼν, ἀφ' ὧν οὐκ ἔστιν· ἔστι μὲν γὰρ Υἱοῦ Πατὴρ, γενητὸς δὲ οὐκ ἔστι. Ὅτι δὲ μᾶλλον ἐξ ὧν ἔστιν, ἢ ἐξ ὧν οὐκ ἔστιν, οἰκειότερον σημαίνεται Θεὸς, ἐκ τοῦδε γένοιτ' ἂν παντί τῳ σαφές. Εἴ τις γὰρ ἐκείνην τὴν ἄφραστον καὶ ἀκατάληπτον φύσιν καλοίη Θεὸν, ἀφ' ὧν ἔστιν ὀνομάζει καλῶς, καὶ Θεὸν εἰπὼν, πάντως ἐκείνην ἐσήμηνεν· εἰ δέ τις ἀφ' ὧν οὐκ ἔστιν ἐπιχειροίη σημαίνειν αὐτὴν, ἄκακον καὶ ἀπόνηρον λέγων διὰ τὸ μὴ κακίαν ἢ πονηρίαν ἐν αὐτῇ εἶναι, ἀληθεύσει μὲν, ἀλλ' οὐ πάντως μηνύει τὸν Θεόν· εἰσὶ γὰρ καὶ ἐν ἀν

About this text

Cyril of Alexandria, Thesaurus on the Holy and Consubstantial Trinity (Greek). SERIES on this page: prologue + Logos I–XXXV CLOSEOUT.

English follows PG 75 Greek (CPG 5215). Greystone / Durand SC / modern English syncs were not used as wording. Thesaurus SERIES CLOSEOUT prologue + Logos I–XXXV.

Witnesses

  • Copy-text PG 75 — Thesaurus de sancta et consubstantiali Trinitate (Greek)

English is newly prepared for study from the stated edition. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.