Section 522
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40 COUNCIL OF NICE. does God precede the Son in thought, nor by a single moment. Always God, always the Son. From God himself the Son exists. Because Eusebius, your brother, bishop of Cesarea, and Theodotus and Paulinus, Athanasius, Gregorius and Aetius, and all the bishops of the East, affirm, that God, who is without a begin ning, existed before the Son, they have been condemned, with the exception only of Philogonius, Hellanicus and Macarius, here tical men, and uninstructed in the faith ; who say, one, that the Son is an effusion ; another, that he is a projection ; and another, that, like the Father, he is unbegotten. We could not listen, in deed, to such impieties, although the heretics should threaten. us with a thousand deaths. But what we ourselves say and think, we have already declared, and now declare, that the Son is jiot unbegotten, nor in any manner a part of the unbegotten, or of any matter subject to Turn ; but in will and design he existed before all times and ages, perfect God, the only begotten, unchangeable ; and that he existed not, before he was begotten, or created, or de termined, or established, for he was not unbegotten. We are per secuted, because we have said that the Son has a beginning. But God is without a beginning. On this account we are perse cuted, and because we said that he is of things not existing. Thus we have said, because he is not a part of God, nor of any subjected matter. On this account we are persecuted. You know the rest. I hope that you are in health in the Lord, and that you remember our troubles, thou true disciple of Lucian, and truly pious man, as your name imports. bishop, if his words are correctly reported by Arius. It is probable that this pas. sage is intended to express what is called the "eternal generation" of the Son, a phrase, however, which, itself, may not be considered as remarkably perspicuous. Possibly the original may, to some readers, be more clear than the translation. It is therefore added, avvvrrapxei aysvvijruf 'o viog ru #ew, aeiyevvqc eariv,