Spirit?" because he imagines that the name can be changed, gathers madness to himself. And he who asks: "Is the Father therefore a grandfather?" while contriving a name for the Father, wanders in his heart. To answer further to the impudence of the heretics is not safe A; for it is to fight against apostolic admonition; but rather to advise them, as he himself has commanded, is good.
7. These things are sufficient for your refutation of their foolish talking. Do not further mock the Godhead. For it is the manner of those who mock to inquire into things which are not written, and to say: "Is the Son therefore the Spirit, and is the Father a grandfather?" Thus do the bishops of Caesarea and Scythopolis mock B. It is sufficient for you to believe that the Spirit is not a creature, but is the Spirit of God, and in Him is the Trinity, Father, and Son, and Holy Spirit. Nor is the Son to be called by the name of the Father; nor is it permitted to say that the Holy Spirit is the Son himself; nor that the Son is the Spirit himself. But the matter stands as it has been said, and there is one Godhead in this Trinity, and one faith, and one baptism which is given in it, and one initiation in Christ Jesus our Lord, through C whom and with whom to the Father be glory and power with the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.
Of our holy Father Athanasius, Archbishop of Alexandria, on the saying of the Gospel: "Whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him; but whosoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, nor in that which is to come."
8. But concerning what you have written to me regarding the evangelical saying, pardon me, beloved, as I have a good conscience. For I feared even to approach it at all; lest, if I were to plunge my mind into that saying and begin to investigate it, I might not be able to draw out the profound meaning within it. Consequently, I had decided to be completely silent on this matter, and to be content only with these previous writings. But fearing lest you might insist that I write about this a second time, I forced myself to write the moderate opinion I have learned concerning it; trusting that if we reach the mark, you will approve it for the sake of him who taught it; but if we do not reach it, you will not reproach D me, since you know our affection. [alt-version omitted]
A The literal text is indeed that, when such great signs were being performed in the Gospel, the Pharisees were saying: “This man does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the prince of the demons.” But the Lord, knowing their thoughts, said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste.” And having said: “But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you,” he then infers: “Therefore I say to you: Every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven you men; but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, neither in this age nor in the one to come.” Yet you were asking why it is that blasphemy against the Son is forgiven, but that against the Holy Spirit has no forgiveness, neither in the present age nor in the coming one.
B 9. Truly, men of old, Origen, the most learned and industrious writer, and the admirable and diligent Theognostus (for I read the treatises of these men on these subjects when you wrote your letter), both deal with this matter. They say that it is C blasphemy against the Holy Spirit when those who have been counted worthy of the gift of the Holy Spirit in baptism fall back into sin. For this reason, they say, they will not receive forgiveness, just as Paul also says in the Epistle to the Hebrews: “For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away.” And both say the same thing, but each adds his own particular opinion.
10. For Origen indeed explains the cause of judgment against such men as follows: “God and Father penetrates into all things and contains all things, both inanimate and animate, rational and irrational. But the power of the Son extends only to rational beings, in whom are included catechumens and Gentiles who have not yet believed. But the Holy Spirit is only in those who (are)
are partakers of him in the bestowal of baptism. When, therefore, catechumens and Gentiles sin, they sin against the Son, since he is in them, as it has been said: yet they can nevertheless obtain forgiveness when they are deemed worthy of the gift of regeneration. But when those who have been baptized sin, he says that this iniquity reaches to the Holy Spirit, since a man has sinned while the Spirit was in him. And therefore he says the punishment due to him cannot be remitted. »
11. Theognostus, however, adds these things: B « He who has transgressed the first and second term might be seen as worthy of a lesser punishment, but he who has despised the third will no longer obtain forgiveness. » He calls the first and second term the doctrine received regarding the Father and the Son: the third, however, the Word handed down during initiation and in the participation of the Spirit: and wishing to confirm this, he adduces that which was said by the Savior to the disciples: « I have yet C many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. But when the Holy Spirit comes, he will teach you. » Then he says: « Just as the Savior speaks to those who cannot yet grasp perfect things, lowering himself to their littleness: but with the perfect the Holy Spirit dwells; yet no one would therefore say that the doctrine of the Holy Spirit excels the doctrine of the Son; but that the Son indeed lowers himself to the imperfect, D while the Holy Spirit is the seal of the perfect; so, not because of the excellence of the Holy Spirit over the Son is the blasphemy against the Spirit inexpiable and without pardon: but because to the imperfect, forgiveness is given; but for those who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have been initiated, no excuse or plea for forgiveness is left. » These things, therefore, are theirs.
12. But I, from what I have learned, judge that the opinion of each one requires some moderate investigation and observation: lest perhaps a deeper meaning might lie hidden in the very words spoken by them. For it is manifest that the Son, being in the Father, is also in those in whom the Father is, and the Spirit is not absent. For the holy, perfect, and blessed Trinity is indivisible. Furthermore, if all things were made through the Son, and in him all things consist, how could he be outside those things which were made through him? But if those things were not far from him, then he himself would also be in all things; so that necessarily he who sins and blasphemes against the Son, sins also against the Father and against the Holy Spirit. But if
and in the Holy Spirit. And the holy laver, A if it were given in the name of the Holy Spirit alone, might rightly be said to cause those who are baptized to sin against the Spirit alone; but since it is given in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and each of those being baptized is perfected in this way, it is necessary B that those who transgress after baptism commit blasphemy against the holy and indivisible Trinity. And it would be just to think and understand this. If the Lord were addressing those who had received the laver of regeneration—I mean the Pharisees—and had already become partakers of the gift of the Holy Spirit, such an interpretation might be plausible, as if they had turned back and transgressed against the Holy Spirit. But if they had neither received the laver, and had even treated the baptism of John with contempt, how did He accuse them of having blasphemed against the Holy Spirit, of whom they had not yet become partakers? For the Lord was not simply speaking while teaching, nor was He threatening those who were yet to face punishment; but by directly accusing the Pharisees as being already guilty of such great blasphemy, the Lord spoke this saying. Since the Pharisees were thus accused even before they had received baptism, this saying certainly does not refer to those who transgress after the laver; and especially because He did not accuse them of just any sins, but of blasphemy. These things differ, for he who sins transgresses the law, but he who blasphemes acts impiously against the Divinity itself. For in many prior transgressions, the Savior accused them, C because they transgressed the commandment of God concerning their parents for the sake of money, and set aside the words of the prophets, and made the house of God a house of merchandise; yet He still exhorted them to repent. But when they said, "He casts out demons by Beelzebub," He no longer called this a sin simply, but such a great blasphemy that the punishment for those who dare such things is inescapable and unpardonable.
13. Furthermore, if this saying had been spoken for the sake of those who sin after the laver, and for them the punishment for their transgressions was unpardonable, how does the Apostle confirm the same love to the one repenting in Corinth, and travail over the Galatians who had turned back, until Christ be formed again in them? And by saying "again," he shows their former perfection in the Spirit. Why then do we blame Novatus D for abolishing repentance, and saying that there remains for them no forgiveness
A for those who sin after the laver? Or, if the scripture text was spoken concerning those who sin after the laver, why should there be any question? For that which is said in the Epistle to the Hebrews does not exclude penitents from repentance, but shows that the baptism of the Catholic Church is one and not twofold. For he wrote to the Hebrews—and lest they should think, according to the custom of the Law, that there are many baptisms daily—that he exhorts them to repentance, and declares that the renewal through baptism is one, and that there is not a second; just as he says in another Epistle, "One faith, one baptism" (Ephes. iv, 5). For he did not say it is impossible to repent, but it is impossible for us to be renewed by the pretext of repentance. But there is a vast difference between these statements: for he who repents indeed ceases to sin, yet he retains the scars of his wounds. But he who is baptized puts off the old man (11), and is renewed, being born from above by the grace of the Spirit.
14. Therefore, as I reflect on this, a greater depth of meaning occurs to me in the saying. B And for this reason, having first prayed much to the Lord who sat upon the well and walked upon the sea, I return to the dispensation accomplished in Him for our sake, so that perhaps from that I may be able to grasp the understanding of the reading. Therefore, all divine Scripture announces and preaches this, and especially John, who says: "The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us" (Joan. i, 14); and Paul, writing in these words: "Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God; but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant (13), and being found in fashion as a man. He humbled Himself, becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the cross" (Philipp. ii, 6-8). C For this reason, since He was God and became man, as God He raised the dead, and by a word healed all, and even changed the water into wine; for these were not the works of man (15). But as He carried a body, He thirsted, and labored, and suffered; for these were not proper to the Godhead. And as God indeed He said: "I am in the Father, and the Father in me" (Joan. xiv, 11), but as He carried a body, He was rebuking the Jews: "Why do you seek to kill me, a man who D [the translation continues, ending the page's last words].
truth which I heard from the Father?" (Joan. viii, 40). A And these things took place not separately, according to the quality of the things being done, in such a way that the things of the body were shown without the divinity, and the things of the divinity without the body; but all things were done conjointly, and there was one Lord who was wondrously effecting these things by His own grace. For He spat as a man, yet the spittle was divine; for by it He caused the eyes of the man blind from birth to see. And wishing to show Himself as God, signifying the same thing in human tongue, He said: "I and the Father are one" (Joan. x, 30), and He healed by His will alone. Likewise, extending His human hand, He raised Peter’s mother-in-law, who was suffering from a fever, and He raised the daughter of the ruler of the synagogue from the dead, she being already deceased.
15. Heretics, therefore, rave in their own ignorance; and some, seeing the bodily things of the Savior, denied that: "In the beginning was the Word" (Joan. i, 1); others, observing the things of the divinity, have been ignorant of: "The Word was made flesh" (Joan. i, 14). But the faithful and apostolic man, knowing the Lord's philanthrôpia, when he sees the signs of the divinity, marvels at the Lord who is in the body; and when he sees again the things proper to the body, he is exceedingly amazed, discerning in them the efficacy of the divinity. Since the ecclesiastical faith is of such a kind, when some, looking at the human things, see the Lord hungering, C or working, or suffering, and only prattle as if against the human nature of the Savior, they sin indeed greatly, but they can nevertheless, by quickly repenting, obtain forgiveness, having as an excuse the weakness of the body (for they have also the Apostle granting them forgiveness, and as it were holding out a hand to them in saying: "And confessedly great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh" [1 Tim. iii, 16]). But when, on the other hand, some considering the works of the divinity, doubt concerning the nature of the body, they too sin most greatly, because, although they see Him eating and suffering, they imagine a phantasm; yet Christ is able to grant forgiveness to these also, if they quickly repent, because they too have as an excuse the magnitude of the works exceeding the power of man. But after D the ignorance and blindness of both having been passed over, those who think they have the
A knowledge of the Law (as for example were the Pharisees of that time) fall into madness, and completely deny the Word who is in the body, or attribute the works of the Godhead to the devil and his demons: they deservedly undergo an insufferable punishment for such impiety. For they deemed even the devil to be God, and they thought that the true and genuinely existing God had no more power in His works than demons.
16. To such impiety, then, had the Jews of that time, and among the Jews the Pharisees, B fallen. For as the Savior was demonstrating the works of the Father (for He raised the dead, gave sight to the blind, made the lame walk, opened the hearing of the deaf, enabled the mute to speak, and showed that creation was subject to Him, commanding the winds and walking on the very sea), the crowds were indeed astonished and glorified God; but the wondrous Pharisees, on the contrary, were saying that such works were of Beelzebul; and the foolish men were not ashamed to transfer the power of God to the devil. Wherefore, quite consistently, the Savior declared that they were uttering a blasphemy that would have neither forgiveness nor remission. For C as long as they looked at the human aspects and faltered in their understanding, saying, "Is this not the son of the carpenter?" and, "How does this man know letters, having not learned?" and, "What sign do you show of yourself?" and, "Let Him descend now from the cross, and we will believe in Him," He bore with them patiently, inasmuch as they were sinning against the Son of Man, and grieving over their blindness He said: "If you had known, even you, the things that make for peace." And indeed, He even forgave great Peter when he wept, after he had responded in that same way, speaking as one does about a man to the portress. But when they, having already fallen, fell again and reached a greater madness, so as to say D that the works of God were of Beelzebul, He no longer bore with them: for they were blaspheming against His Spirit, saying that He who did these things was not God, but Beelzebul. And for this reason, as men daring what was unendurable, He condemned them to eternal punishment. For it was equal to them daring also to say,
A that while observing the order of the world and the providence governing it, they dared to say that the nature of things was created by Beelzebul; or that the sun rises in order to obey the devil, and for his sake the stars revolve in the heavens. For just as these are works of God, so those too were the works of the Father; and if those were Beelzebul's, then necessarily these also would be Beelzebul's. And where, then, is that saying left for them: «In the beginning God created heaven and earth» (Gen. I, 1)? But this insanity of theirs is nothing strange; since their fathers, possessed of the same state of mind, when they had recently come out of Egypt into the desert, having fashioned a calf and attributing to it the benefits that had come to them from God (Exod. XXXII, 4), they said: «These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.» Because of this blasphemy, therefore, even then, of those who had dared such things, not a few, but very many were slain; and God had threatened, saying: «On the day when I visit, I will bring upon them their sin» (ibid. 34). For as long as those people were murmuring because of the scarcity of bread and water, He tolerated them, no differently than a nurse B her foster child; but when they progressed to greater insanity, as the Spirit sings against them: «They exchanged their glory for the likeness of a calf that eats grass» (Psal. CV, 22); then, because they had dared what was inexpiable, they were struck down, as the Scripture says (Exod. XXXII, 35), on account of the calf that had been made, which Aaron had made.
17. The Pharisees now likewise dare to bring upon themselves such condemnation as Beelzebul, whom they suspected to be their author, already had and still has; so that they too are to be consumed eternally in the fire prepared for him. For the Savior did not speak this C as if He were making some comparison between the blasphemy spoken against Himself and that which is called blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, as if the Holy Spirit were greater, and therefore the crime of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit were greater; God forbid! For He had already taught that all things which the Father has are the Son’s, and that the Spirit is to receive from the Son, and that He Himself will glorify the Son. Neither does the Spirit give the Son; but the Son provides the Spirit to the disciples, and through them to those who believe in Him. The Savior, therefore, did not speak with such intent; but as if the blasphemy uttered against D both rebounded upon Himself, and one were lesser and the other greater—such things the Lord has spoken.
For indeed the Pharisees themselves were saying both things: seeing Him as a man, they reviled Him, saying, "Whence has this man this wisdom?" and, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?" And observing the works of the Father, they not only denied A His divinity, but instead of this, they said that Beelzebul was in Him, and that the works were his. For this reason, since both things were said of Him, and since one blasphemy was less because it concerned His humanity, while the other was greater because it concerned His divinity, concerning the greater one He spoke of an inexpiable punishment against them. Certainly, when He afforded firmness and confidence to His disciples with these words: "If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul [Matt. x, 25]," B He declared that He Himself was the master of the house, who was thus being reviled by the Jews.
18. If then the Jews were saying, "In Beelzebul [Matt. xii, 24]," and were reviling no one other than the Lord, it is manifest then that the statement, "But the blasphemy against the Spirit [Matt. xii, 31]," is spoken against the Lord Himself, and the Savior was signifying that the whole utterance referred to Himself. For He is the master of the house of all; for the sake of assurance, one must not shy away from repeating the same thing. To thirst [John iv, 7; xix, 28], to labor, to sleep, to be struck with fists, to eat, are proper to men; but the works which the Lord did C were not of men, but were the works of God to perform. Therefore, when some, as I said before, seeing these things, revile the Lord as a man, they would merit a lesser punishment than those who attribute the works of God to the devil. For such people not only cast holy things to the dogs, but they even compare God to the devil and call light darkness. This, to be sure, is the unforgivable blasphemy of the Pharisees, as Mark observed, saying: "Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit has no forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin; because they said, 'He has an unclean spirit' [Mark iii, 29, 30]." And he who had been blind from birth, upon receiving his sight, was bearing witness: "Since the world began it has been heard that anyone opened the eyes of one born blind. If He were not from God, He could not do anything [John ix, 32, 33]." And the crowds, wondering D at the things done by the Lord, were saying: "These words are not of one who has a demon; can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"
A But those who were thought to be the masters of the law, the Pharisees, who widened their fringes and boasted as though they knew something more than the rest, were not even then ashamed; but, as it is written, the wretches sacrificed to a demon and not to God, saying that the Lord had a demon, and that the works of God were of demons. And they suffered this for no other reason, save only to deny that He who did these things was God and the Son of God. For if the eating and the appearance of the body showed Him also to be a man, why did they not perceive from the works that He was in the Father and the Father in Him? But they would not; nay, rather, they themselves had Beelzebub speaking within them, so that while they called Him a man alone from His human aspects, they would no longer confess Him to be God from the works which were proper to God, but instead made the Beelzebub dwelling in themselves God in His stead, so that they might thereafter be punished with him eternally in the fire.
19. And it seems to me that the observation of the reading itself B provides a certain emphasis of this kind, and shows that both blasphemies reach unto Him, and that He spoke of Himself both as "the Son of Man" and as "Spirit," so that from the former He might show His bodily nature, and from the spirit He might declare His spiritual, intelligible, and most true divinity. For indeed He assigned that which can obtain forgiveness to the Son of Man, that He might signify His bodily nature; but He declared that the unforgivable blasphemy reaches to the Spirit, that, by saying this in contrast to His bodily nature, He might show His divinity. And I have seen this character also in the Gospel according to John; when, discoursing concerning the eating of the body, and having seen many who were scandalized C because of this, the Lord says: "Does this scandalize you? If then you see the Son of Man ascending where He was before? The Spirit is what gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words which I have spoken to you, are spirit and life." And here too He spoke both concerning Himself, flesh and spirit; and He distinguished the spirit from the flesh, so that those who believe might learn not only what appears, but also what is invisible about Him, that what He speaks is not carnal, but spiritual. For how many people would the body suffice for food, so that it might become nourishment for the whole world? But for this reason He made mention of the ascension of the Son of Man into heaven, that He might withdraw them from bodily D thought.
A And that they might thereafter learn that the flesh mentioned is a food from heaven above, and a spiritual nourishment given by Him. "For the words that I have spoken to you," He says, "are spirit and life." This is equivalent to saying: What is shown and given for the salvation of the world is the flesh which I wear, but this and its blood will be given to you by me as spiritual food 60 61; so that it is distributed spiritually in each, and becomes for all a safeguard unto the resurrection of eternal life. In this way also the Lord, drawing the Samaritan woman 62 away from sensible things, called God a Spirit, so that she might no longer think of Him corporally, but spiritually concerning God. In this way also the prophet, B contemplating the Word become flesh, has said: "Christ the Lord is a spirit before our face 65"; so that no one, from what is apparent, might think the Lord to be a mere man, but by hearing of the Spirit, might know that He who is in the body is God.
20. Thus, in either case, it would be clear henceforth 64 that he who sees the Lord discussing matters concerning Himself, if he looks only at His bodily aspects and, not believing, says, "Whence has this man this wisdom?", sins, and blasphemes as if against the Son of Man; but he who C on the mystical table declares the common bread to be the own body of His incarnation. We, sanctifying the bread of the proposition on the linen, find without hesitation the body of Christ. What could be plainer than this?
Furthermore, Cardinal Perron quite incorrectly denied this treatise to Athanasius; for from those things said in our Monitum, it is established that it is his genuine offspring, about which matter no learned man any longer doubts.
In this work, however, by the name of Spirit the holy doctor often understands the divinity of Christ. This is admitted by Hilary and also by many more ancient Fathers, as our editors report in the Preface to the new edition of Hilary, number 57 and following.
A For one who beholds His works A performed by the Holy Spirit, and says that the one who performs such things is neither God nor the Son of God, but attributes them to Beelzebul, clearly blasphemes by denying His divinity. For even in the evangelical saying, as has been said B often, when He says, "the Son of man," He indicates His nature according to the flesh and humanity; so that, by saying "the Spirit," He might declare that it is His own Holy Spirit B in whom He was working all things. Hence, when He was performing the works, He said: "If you do not believe Me, at least believe My works, that you may know that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me." But when He was about to offer Himself C bodily for us, when for this very reason He went up to Jerusalem, He said to His disciples: "Sleep on now, and take your rest; for lo, the hour has drawn near, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners." For as the works made Him to be believed to be the true God, so did the death show that He truly had a body. Wherefore, quite reasonably, He called the one who was being betrayed "the Son of man"; for the Word is immortal and untouchable, and is life itself. But neither did the Pharisees believe these things, nor did their sons wish to see the works themselves; wherefore the Lord again gently reproves them, saying: "If I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you." And here He said "by the Spirit of God," not as being less than the Spirit, nor as if the Spirit were working these things in Him, D but that He might again declare that He, being the Word of God, is Himself the one who works all things through the Spirit, and might teach those who hear that, in as much as they attribute the works of the Spirit to Beelzebul, by so much do they blaspheme the One who grants the Spirit. For even by saying this, He shows that they are not acting out of ignorance, but that they have willingly involved themselves in such an inescapable blasphemy. And they are not ashamed, even though they know that such works are of God, that they said that these things came to be from the spirit of Beelzebul.
A With what plea, then, can they who dare such things still accuse the Gentiles, for that they fashion idols and call them gods? For their deeds are on a par with the madness of those others—or perhaps the transgressions of these are even more grievous; for although they received a law concerning this, by the transgression of the law they have heaped contumely upon God. But what will they who blaspheme in this way do when they read the prophet Isaiah and hear that the signs of Christ’s coming are sight given to the blind, walking to the lame, speech to the dumb, the resurrection of the dead, healing for the lepers, and the opening of the ears of the deaf? For whom will they wish to name as the author of these things? If they say it is God, they will convict themselves of impiety against the Lord; for what the prophet said as he foresaw, the Lord Himself has performed when present. But if, carried away by boldness, they should dare to say that these things too were done in Beelzebul, I fear that by progressing B by degrees in impiety, and reading, "Who has given a mouth to man? And who has made the dumb and the deaf, the seeing and the blind?" and similar passages, they may, in their madness, again say that these words also belong to Beelzebul. For to whomsoever they attribute the grace of restored sight, to him they must necessarily attribute the cause of not seeing; for the Word has declared that both were made by the same one. But assuredly, in saying this, they will eventually come to think that Beelzebul is the creator of human nature; for it is the property of the creator to have the things created in his own power. For as Moses said, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth," and, "In the image of God created God man," so also Daniel C spoke boldly to Darius, saying, "I do not worship idols made by hands, but the living God, who created the heaven and the earth, and has authority over all flesh"—unless, changing their minds again, they should say that blindness, lameness, and the other bodily infirmities arise from the correction of the creator, but that the cure of these and the benefaction toward those who are afflicted are performed by Beelzebul. But even to examine this is utter madness; for such a most impious and foolish rambling belongs to those who are raging and more than out of their minds. For in such a comparison, these madmen attribute not the better things to God, but to Beelzebul. For they care nothing about undermining the doctrines of the divine Scriptures, if only they may deny D the coming of Christ.
A Verily, they ought not to have slighted them as men on account of their bodily state, but rather to have confessed Him as the true God from His works. But they did everything perversely; for when they saw Him as a man, they reviled Him as a man, and when they beheld divine works, they denied His divinity, and fled for refuge to the devil, thinking that by daring such things they would be able to escape, so as not to be judged by the very Word who was insulted by them. Now the enchanters, and magicians, and sorcerers of Pharaoh, although they had attempted very many things, nevertheless, when they saw the signs wrought through Moses, they gave way at last, and turned their backs, saying that the One performing these things was the finger of God. But the Pharisees and the scribes, when they saw the entire hand of God working, and beheld works B greater and more numerous than those done by Him through the Savior, they said that Beelzebul was doing these things; for they confessed that even the magicians, although he was their own, were unable to do even things lesser than these. What, therefore, can be said of the magnitude of their madness? Or, as the prophet has said, who will be able to compare anything to their impieties? For they have shown themselves to be more righteous than the Sodomites; they have surpassed the ignorance of the Gentiles, and they excel the folly of the magicians of Pharaoh, and they can be compared only to the Ariomanites, as they fall into the very same impiety. For the Jews, C seeing the works of the Father through the Son, attributed them to Beelzebul; while the Arians, when they see these same works, number the Lord who performs them among created things, saying that He is from non-existence, and that "He was not before He was made." And the Pharisees, indeed, when they saw the Lord in the body, murmured, saying: "Why do you, being a man, make yourself God?" But these enemies of Christ, when they see Him suffering and sleeping, blaspheme with these words: "He who suffers these things cannot be the true God and consubstantial with the Father." In the end, if any one should wish to weigh the errors of both against each other, he will find, as I said before, D that they have fallen together into the valley of bitter folly.
25. A For this reason, the Lord declared that there would be no remission for this sin, in these words: "But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, neither in this age, nor in the age to come." And with good reason; for he who denies the Son, whom can he call upon, or what propitiation can he expect? Or what life or rest can he look for, who has repelled Him who says: "I am the life," and, "Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you?" Since, therefore, those men pay the penalty in this way, it is evident that those who are pious toward Christ, and who worship Him both according to the flesh and according to the Spirit, and who are neither ignorant that He is the Son of God, nor deny that He has become the Son B of man; but who believe also that "In the beginning was the Word," and, "The Word became flesh," will reign eternally in the heavens according to the holy promises of the Lord and Savior Himself, Jesus Christ, who says: "These will indeed go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
These things I have written to you briefly, from what I have learned. But receive this from me not as a perfect doctrine, but only as a starting point; and for the rest, by gathering for yourself a more accurate understanding from the evangelical text and the Psalms, bind up the sheaves of truth, so that it may be said C to you also as you bring them: "Coming they shall come with exultation, carrying their sheaves," in Christ Jesus our Lord, through whom and with whom, to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, be glory and power, to the ages of ages. Amen.