Contra haereticos

Against Heretics. Knowing you as dancers of piety and soldiers, I now set before you, as to dancers, the sweet melody of ethical teachings, and now, as to armed men, I sound in your ears the harshness of doctrine, like the voice of a trumpet. For the formation of piety is composed of both: the ethical teachings fill the role of the body's order, while the coupling of doctrines is assigned to the dignity of the soul. For just as when the body is separated from the soul, the arrangement of limbs is useless even if praised, so too the beauty of ethical virtue is dead unless it is ensouled by the power of doctrines. For what benefit is there when morals are trained in temperance, if the one who is temperate is ignorant of the judge of temperance? What profit is there in almsgiving, when the judge of almsgiving is rejected and offended? What advantage will there be for soldiers who display great activity in good works, but are enemies of the king? Without this, you have set down every advantage of virtue as useless, unless the correctness of doctrines is rooted in addition. For fruits must proceed from the root, and the sinews of the virtues must originate from the head. Hanging from this head, and weaving the limbs of actions together with it, we complete the whole body of piety, binding Christ as the head of the body. For he himself, it is said, is the head of the body of the Church; the heretics have deemed him unworthy to have as head. It would indeed be a matter for prayer that those called Christians should not rage against Christ in such a way. But now we must even thank them for their madness, because by raving they keep us awake, because they provoke us to a desirable battle.

I love a battle better than peace, I love a war more blessed than love, I love a mind that parades itself, boasting before Greeks of Christ, and also stirring up strife among us, because we exalt Christ. Such was Arius: when he speaks to Greeks, he speaks boastfully of Christ; but when he converses with us, he slanders Christ. Such was Eunomius: when he censures Hellenism, he denounces the making of a god; but when he speaks to us, he sets up the making of a god; for it is a form of making a god to say that God the Logos is a created God and a creature fashioned to be worshipped. What are you doing, blind heretic? You bring back what you destroyed, building up Christ, and you tear down what you understood, planting the greater evils of making creatures gods, of creature-worship. Do not harm the nobility of Christianity; do not make it akin to Hellenism; for worship of a creature, whether the worshipped creature be greater or lesser, is a sibling of Greek worship. Paul does not accuse the Greeks, after all, because they worshipped a little, but because they worshipped creation at all instead of the creator. For worshipping a creature, whether small or great, is equivalent; rather, the heretic is harsher to the divine nature than the Greeks. For one who calls creation God is not so insulting to the Divine as one who names God a creature. The former, in deifying creation, seems to clothe a slave in royal purple; the latter, in introducing God as a creature, forces the Divine to be common. A Greek, who suspects the Divine, nevertheless honors it in every way; but Arius does not revere it, he cannot bear the good repute of God.

He does not deny revering and worshipping Christ, but he is pained when Christ is honored with the highest honors. If someone says "uncreated," they are immediately angered; if "without a master," they are vexed; if "sharer of the Father's dignity," they are provoked as by a greater blow; if "giver of gifts, self-willed," they gnash their teeth at this too—they bear the name of Christians, but the mind of Christ-haters. Consider, Arius, what authority you reject. Listen to him giving orders to different people in different ways with authority: "I will give you," he says, "the keys of the kingdom of heaven"; and, "You will be with me today in paradise." "You, leaving the tax booth, follow me." "You, do not be afraid, but speak, because I am with you." "I say to you, leper, be cleansed." "You, run and wash in Siloam, and see again." "You, paralytic, your sins are forgiven." "You, sea, be silent, be still." "You, come after me, and I will make you fishers of men." "You, destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it." "You, disciple all the nations. And behold, I am with you all the days until the end of the age." None of these said: "The Father will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven"; "The Father will lead you into paradise"; "You, leper, be cleansed by the will of the Father"; "You, command the sea by the Father's authority—be silent, be still"; "You come after me, and the Father will make you fishers of men." But the sayings are from his own authoritative power. And if somewhere the words of his authority are more moderate, as in, "I thank you, Father, that you have heard me," he adds the cause according to nature.

Because of the crowd standing around, he says, I spoke, so that they might believe that you sent me; but those who were gaping at him crowned every lofty utterance directed toward him. A centurion approached concerning his son, raising him up with praises as much as he had power: "Lord," he says, "I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but speak only a word, and my son will be healed"; and receiving the gift, he was applauded. "Truly," he says, "I tell you, not even in Israel did I find such faith. But go, and as you have believed, so let it be for you." Again, a woman with a hemorrhage, bringing honor to the Master's tunic with doxologies—not to mention the divinity—received the gift with praises. And the thief was honored in paradise because he called the crucified one king. Greater faith than these is owed by us to the Master Christ, to the extent that we have partaken of greater knowledge. But let it be, Arius, that you at least had something similar then. Do you not wish me to think something higher than the things previously said about Christ? The opinion is wicked, but let it stop at this. Why do you also dictate lower utterances to those who invoke him? I have the words of those times as patterns for prayer. I do not say to Christ, "Lord, remember me in your service," but I say the utterance through which the thief was heard: "Lord, remember me in your kingdom." I do not say to the Word of God, "Lord, servant of the Father's gifts," for the centurion does not permit me, crying out, "The Lord, speak only a word, and my son will be healed.

I do not say to him, "Lord, if I ask the Father, I will be saved," for I offer nothing less than a woman's token of faith to the divinity, Arius. I call the Son as he delights to be called; I approach with such words as those who have approached him and returned successful used. If the robber and the woman and the faithful soldier are inadmissible for teaching the faith, at least respect the chorus of the apostles, where gifts beyond nature were invoked upon Christ. What did Peter say when he raised the paralytic? "Aeneas," he says, "Jesus Christ heals you." And again, when working another healing, he says, "There is no salvation in any other name." What did Ananias say when he healed Paul? "Saul, brother, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." What power did Paul invoke for himself? "Most gladly," he says, "will I boast in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may encamp upon me." What did James and John entreat against the punishment of the Samaritans? "Lord," they say, "do you wish us to say that fire should come down from heaven and consume them?" And what did the chorus of angels hand down to men about him? "He himself," it says, "will save his people from their sins.

And these things are less than his worth. For it is not a hymn, not exalting the Son, not equating him, but however much you may rise with praises, however much glory of words you may devise, you will cry out, defeated, with David, "What shall I render to the Lord for all that he has rendered to me?" But if, Arius, the word "uncreated" is a term of honor exalting the Son beyond measure, you will cry out to him, with the words of David altered, "Lord, if I call you uncreated, what will you render to me, who have honored you with an honor greater than yourself?" But John will speak against them, saying, "Fools and blind men, we are not worthy to loose the strap of his sandal." From every side, then, we are roused to the lofty discourse of the divine nature; let us practice great thoughts in hymns of God; let us raise the one we worship to the heights with all our strength; let us save a poor mind in a time of theology; let us honor the Father with high praises for the Son; let us glorify the glory of the begetter, the likeness of nature of the begotten to him with equal honor; let us confess the truth of the generation; let us gain the love of the Father by the service to the one from him. For he says, "If anyone loves me, my Father will love him." To whom is the glory and the power unto the ages of ages. Amen.