The Incomparability of the Son

They think that the intelligible things are made similar to the flows of matter. For the heavenly things surpass all mind and all thought, while the earthly and lowly things are subject to becoming and passing away in time. But especially, the Son was begotten without beginning, existing and working with his own true Father, like light to the solar disk. And the fact that God, Lord, Holy, Creator, Imperishable, Life, Light, and all that the Father is, exists, is testified from the Scriptures. And it is more fitting to have the similar and equal from the many than the dissimilar from the one. How is it that Adam and Eve, not having been begotten and not having had a father, have become equal in nature to those from them? Or what simple comparison have they made, saying the 'dissimilar,' or how, having measured, have they arrived at the 'greater and larger'? For Scripture neither defines the holy and unbegotten, one and indivisible Trinity by nature, nor again distinguishes for it the first and the second. But these two things are being made manifest: that the greater is not in any way of a different substance (heterousios)ent substance (heterousios), and that the comparative terms apply to those of the same substance, not to those of different substance. Nor would one say it is opportune even by imposition, not even concerning the 'incomparable and greater.' Not according to size or any volume; for the God Word has withdrawn from all magnitude and simplicity, and from all bulk, composition, and form, just as the Father and his Holy Spirit, being contained by nothing, yet containing all. Because he is also the beginning of all magnitudes, like a creator. For where is size in the most sublime, supersubstantial, and superior hypostases? Nor even according to the unbegotten. For he co-exists with the Father as an 'emanation of his glory' and not having God before him. For he indeed says: 'In the beginning was the Word' (John 1:1). And God the Creator is not measured by time relative to the creation. Since it is necessary for them to require—which is a dangerous thought to conceive—a time prior to the unbegotten and incomprehensible God and Father, and thus to compare. But men are accustomed to call 'greater' those who have preceded in time in generation, according to Isaac who ordains: 'the greater shall serve the less.' Nor as a cause.. Text ends abruptly.

He is not the cause of it. For the only-begotten Son was shown to be without beginning, since he is greater than both himself and us in the same way, which would be impossible to say or even to hear.

Nor is he greater according to essence and similarity. For from him it is said, 'as the only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth' (John 1:14), and as 'the character of the hypostasis,' being a character toward all things, and as 'the image of God,' whom 'he who has seen has seen the Father' (John 14:9). 'For in him dwells all the fullness of deity' (Colossians 2:9). And this is drawn out by the testimony of 'let us make man in our image and according to our likeness' (Genesis 1:26).

Nor is he greater according to a distinction of quality, since the divine and unsearchable hypostases are not qualities; for quality belongs to bodies, but they are incorporeal and intellectual. But it is not even possible to think about them in terms of comparison, as if the beautiful were more beautiful than the lovely, similarly to the voice of Paul speaking concerning another: 'But now these three remain, faith, hope, love; but the greatest of these is love' (1 Corinthians 13:13). For through the distinction toward virtue, he gained the 'greater' through love. For, he says, having loved, we believe, and having believed, we hope to reign with Christ.

For if the 'one God' (1 Corinthians 8:6) and 'that you may become partakers of the divine nature' (2 Peter 1:4) and not of natures, is true, and it has been demonstrated that the whole thing is one, I say: the deity. Nor is he greater according to equality, because it is written that the Son is 'God,' great and 'over all' (Ephesians 1:22), 'making himself equal to the Father' (Philippians 2:6) and 'swearing by himself, since he has no greater' (Hebrews 6:13).

Nor is he greater according to power. For it is written: 'the power of God and the wisdom of God' (1 Corinthians 1:24), and 'all things as the Father does, the Son also does in the same way' (John 14:10). Nor is he greater according to glory or any honor. 'For if we had known,' he says, 'we would not have crucified the Lord of glory' (1 Corinthians 2:8). And it is the will of the Father, according to John, 'that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father' (John 5:23).

According to what, then, remains the greater and the dissimilar? As it was shown, according to nothing. And indeed the apostle, preventing the impious suppositions of heretics regarding the only-begotten Son and God, yet preventing the identity of nature toward his Father, and furthermore proclaiming the without-beginning, having written as was said above: 'who being the radiance of the glory of the Father' (Hebrews 1:3) brought forth: 'and the character of his hypostasis.'

And