# Oratio quarta contra Arianos [Sp.] 23

Athanasius Alexandrinus, Oratio quarta contra Arianos [Sp.], Chapter 23. Ancient Greek.

Canonical: https://interlinea.aeterna-institute.org/library/greek/athanasius-alexandrinus/oratio-quarta-contra-arianos-sp/23

23. Εἰ γὰρ ὅλως ἐνανθρωπήσας γέγονεν Υἱὸς, ἡ ἐνανθρώπησις αἰτία. Καὶ εἰ ὁ ἄνθρωπος αἴτιος τοῦ εἶναι αὐτὸν Υἱὸν, ἢ τὸ συναμφότερον, καὶ τὰ αὐτὰ ἄτοπα ἀπαντήσει. Ἑπειτα, εἰ πρῶτον Λόγος, καὶ ὕστερον Υἱὸς, φανήσεται ὕστερον ἐγνωκὼς τὸν Πατέρα, καὶ οὐ πρότερον· οὐ γὰρ ᾖ Λόγος γινώσκει, ἀλλʼ ᾗ Υἱός· ‘οὐδεὶς γὰρ γινώσκει τὸν Πατέρα, εἰ μὴ ὁ Υἱός.᾿ Ἀπαντήσει δὲ καὶ τοῦτο, ὅτι ὕστερον ‘ἐν κόλποις τοῦ Πατρὸςʼ γέγονε, καὶ ὕστερον αὐτὸς καὶ ὁ Πατὴρ ‘ἓν᾿ γεγόνασι, καὶ ὕστερον τὸ, ‘ὁ ἑωρακὼς ἐμὲ, ἑώρακε τὸν Πατέρα.᾿ Ταῦτα γὰρ πάντα ἐφʼ Υἱοῦ ἐλέχθη. Ἐκ δὴ τούτων ἀναγκασθήσονται εἰπεῖν, ‘Οὐδὲν ἦν ὁ Λόγος, ἀλλʼ ὄνομα μόνον Οὔτε γὰρ ἐν ἡμῖν μετὰ τοῦ Πατρὸς, οὔτε ὁ τὸν Λόγον ἑωρακὼς ἔβλεπε τὸν Πατέρα, οὔτε ὅλως τινὶ ἐγνώσθη ὁ Πατήρ· διὰ γὰρ Υἱοῦ γινώσκεται ὁ Πατήρ· οὕτω γὰρ καὶ γέγραπται, ‘καὶ ᾦ ἂν ὁ Υἱὸς ἀποκαλύψῃ.’ Μήπω δὲ ὄντος τοῦ Λόγου Υἱοῦ, οὐδέπω τις ἐγίνωσκε τὸν Πατέρα. Πῶς οὖν Μωσεῖ, πῶς τοῖς πατράσιν ὤφθη; αὐτὸς γὰρ ἐν ταῖς Βασιλείαις φησὶν, ‘Ἀποκαλυφθεὶς ἀπεκαλύφθην πρὸς πάντας τοὺς πατέρας ὑμῶν.᾿ Εἰ δὲ ἀπεκαλύφθη Θεὸς, δῆλον ὅτι ἦν ὁ ἀποκαλύπτων Υἱὸς, ὡς αὐτός φησι, ‘καὶ ᾧ ἐὰν ὁ Υἱὸς ἀποκαλύψῃ. Ἀσεβὲς μὲν οὖν καὶ ἀνόητον τὸ λέγειν ἄλλον εἶναι τὸν Λόγον, καὶ ἄλλον εἶναι τὸν Υἱόν. Πόθεν δὲ ἄρα τὴν τοιαύτην ὑπόνοιαν ἐσχήκασιν, ἐρέσθαι καλόν. Φασὶ δὴ, ‘διὰ τὸ μὴ εἰρῆσθαι ἐν τῇ παλαιᾷ περὶ Υἱοῦ, ἀλλὰ περὶ Λόγου,ʼ καὶ διὰ τοῦτο νεώτερον ὑπονοεῖν τοῦ Λόγου τὸν Υἱὸν διαβεβαιοῦνται, ‘ὅτι μὴ ἐν τῇ παλαιᾷ, ἀλλʼ ἐν τῇ καινῇ μόνῃ περὶ αὐτοῦ ἐλέχθη. Ταῦτʼ ἐκεῖνοι ἀσεβῶς φθέγγονται. Πρῶτον μὲν γὰρ διαιρεῖν τὰς διαθήκας, καὶ μὴ τὴν ἑτέραν τῆς ἑτέρας ἔχεσθαι, Μανιχαίων καὶ Ἰουδαίων τὸ ἐπιτήδευμα, τῶν μὲν τῇ παλαιῇ, τῶν δὲ τῇ νέᾳ ἀντιλεγόντων· ἔπειτα κατʼ αὐτοὺς, εἰ τὰ ἐν τῇ παλαιῇ κείμενα προάγει τῷ χρόνῳ, τὰ δὲ ἐν τῇ νέᾳ νεώτερά ἐστι, καὶ ἐκ τῶν γραμμάτων οἱ χρόνοι κρίνονται, ἀνάγκη πάλιν νεώτερα εἶναι τὸ ‘Ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ Πατὴρ ἕν ἐσμεν,ʼ τό τε μονογενὴς,᾿ καὶ τὸ ‘ὁ ἑωρακὼς ἐμὲ, ἑώρακε τὸν Πατέρα·ʼ οὐ γὰρ ἐκ τῆς παλαιᾶς, ἀλλʼ ἐκ τῆς καινῆς ταῦτα μαρτυρεῖται.

---

Athanasius, Oratio quarta contra Arianos [Sp.], ed. William Bright. Text: The Greek Library, from the Perseus Digital Library and other open sources, CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: apostrophes normalised and the text divided into reading sections by Interlinea.
License: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Source: https://thegreeklibrary.pages.lisn.upsaclay.fr/works/tlg2035.tlg117.local001/.